A former Roman Catholic priest has filed a lawsuit claiming that as a teenager in Southern California he was abused by a priest who was his mentor.
Ben Rodriguez, who left the priesthood in 2006, claims in the suit filed Monday that Gordon J. Pillon molested him multiple times from 1978 to 1981.
The Orange County Superior Court filing says Pillon eventually influenced Rodriguez to enter the seminary and become a priest.
Rodriguez's attorney says Pillon, who is also no longer a priest, is now a professor at the University of Northern Virginia's campus in Prague, in the Czech Republic. The 45-year-old Rodriguez claims he was abused at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra.
An e-mail to a Gordon Pillon at the Prague campus was not immediately answered Monday, according to The Associated Press.
