Sex Abuse Suit Accuses Priest Charged in Nun's Killing

TOLEDO (AP) -- A woman says in a lawsuit that a Roman Catholic priest accused of killing a nun in 1980 took part in ritual abuse ceremonies with other clergy members. The woman, who was not identified, said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that she was tortured and raped as a young girl in a church basement nearly 40 years ago.

She said the Rev. Gerald Robinson was among those who abused her. Robinson was charged a year ago in the killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl during Easter weekend in 1980 in what police said appeared to be a ritualistic slaying. He is scheduled to go on trial in October.

Robinson's attorney, Alan Konop, said the woman's lawsuit and her allegations did not "deserve the dignity of a reply." Police detectives investigating the nun's slaying already have looked into claims that children were abused by priests in ritual services decades ago, but found no evidence that it happened. Police also were not been able to link any ritual abuse to Robinson.

Four women told detectives about being abused between the late 1960s and 1986 during cult-like ceremonies involving altars and men dressed in robes, according to the newspaper. Mark A. Davis, the attorney for the woman who filed the lawsuit, said Thursday that she has had brief contact with police. He does not think they have investigated her claims.

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