Alleged Lansing priest sex abuse victim comes forward

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Kathleen Lavey • klavey@lsj.com

Attorney says he hopes his story helps others traumatized by clergy

Vintage ceramic tile and linoleum in his new workplace helped attorney Gregory Guggemos to recall his days at St. Vincent home for children in the 1950s - and what he believes was abuse at the hands of its founder, he said Tuesday.



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Guggemos, formerly of Haslett, settled a claim against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing for $225,000 last month. Guggemos said he hopes identifying himself and telling his story will help his healing process - and other victims of clergy abuse.

"I know now I did nothing wrong when I was at the orphanage. I have no responsibility for being sexually abused. I am a victim," Guggemos said.

His voice sometimes breaking with emotion, Guggemos read a 10-page statement Tuesday detailing the years-long process of recalling of what he says was abuse by Monsignor John Slowey.

"I don't recall ever being this nervous in front of a judge," he said after making the presentation.

Guggemos' claim against the diocese was paid Aug. 17. That's a week before Bishop Earl Boyea, leader of the 10-county Diocese of Lansing, said he believes another priest, the Rev. John Martin, abused at least a half-dozen boys who attended St. Isidore church in Laingsburg during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Slowey and Martin are long dead.

Michael Diebold, spokesman for the diocese, said no other allegation has been made about Slowey, who founded the St. Vincent home on West Willow Street in 1952.

"However, if there are any other people out there who were abused by Father Slowey or any other priest, we want them to come forward," Diebold said. "Our primary goal is to promote healing for the victims."

Guggemos, who now lives in northern Michigan, said he and three of his five siblings were sent to the St. Vincent home in June 1954 when their mother became seriously ill. They stayed there until the spring of 1955.

For years, Guggemos said, he had no recollection of his months at the orphanage, but began to think about that period after his mother died in August 1999. Guggemos delivered gifts to children at the home and took a tour of it shortly before Christmas of that year.

He said the ceramic tile and green-and-white linoleum in the building, which was replaced in 2005 by a new one, triggered memories. So did a particular exterior door.

"When I saw this door I experienced a tremendous knot in my stomach and a sense of fear that I had never felt before," he said. "I felt frozen in time. My heart began to race and my breathing became very rapid and shallow. I stood still and allowed these feelings to continue to surface. They were horrible."

By the end of 2001, Guggemos said he had become convinced that something traumatic happened to him while he was at the home, and that Slowey was involved.

Guggemos hired a private investigator to look into Slowey's career. The investigator tracked Slowey's transfers from one assignment to another, and told Guggemos that Slowey's history was consistent with reassignments of abusive priests.

Priests often have numerous short assignments, Diebold said. "It's a question of giving priests experience in a variety of ministries," he said.

Guggemos said that, at that time, he did not read the private investigator's written report. He received advice from other lawyers that the statute of limitations on his case had expired, so he decided not to pursue it.

In January 2008, Guggemos said he started a new job in a historic building that had ceramic tile and linoleum similar to St. Vincent.

"I started feeling depressed and experienced a persistent sense of fear," he said.

Guggemos was hospitalized in January 2009 and has had difficulty working since. In April 2009, he said, a psychiatrist urged him to open the private investigator's report, which contained a photo of Slowey.

"When I saw his picture, I threw all the papers up in the air and started crying uncontrollably," Guggemos said. "I had an immediate flashback to him, the orphanage and one incident of being sexually abused by Slowey."

Guggemos quit his job in July 2009 and took his story to a diocesan review board last fall, at which his attorney represented him.

Guggemos signed the $225,000 settlement with the diocese July 27 and Boyea signed it Aug. 11. He was paid Aug. 17.

Diebold said the diocese paid the claim out of its accounts but will be reimbursed by an insurance company.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/ar...es-forward