Youth Minister Fired For Sexual Misconduct Harassing Victim

Location: Vancouver, WA

Hello, I have a complex situation involving my former youth minister, who sexually abused me and other teenagers, was fired for sexual misconduct in 2006, and is now a prominent figure in the community today. Throughout high-school I attended youth group at a Catholic Parish where the youth minster groomed and sexually harassed myself and other minors, eventually leading to sexual assault when I was 19. The Seattle Archdiocese conducted an investigation and terminated him for sexual misconduct, permanently barring him from any ministry or volunteer roles within Catholic Churches and Organizations in Washington State. This happened in 2006. Myself and other victims received backlash from the parish, including anonymous hate mail and threats. The abuser threatened to sue us for defamation if we talked about what happened, and I moved away and did not return to Clark County until about 4 years ago. After learning that the perpetrator is still involved with the Parish and youth there today, I’ve contacted the Seattle Archdiocese on multiple occasions and they’ve refused to allow me any access to original documentation and issued a statement saying that he was fired based on his “own admission” of a “consensual” sexual relationship with one 19 year old victim- so they have not formally included any of the allegations of underage grooming and sexual harassment, or the reports of coercive and non-consensual sexual advances that they received from youth during the investigation. The perpetrator is now executive assistant of a very prominent local philanthropic estate, and controls funding towards many nonprofits and election campaigns in the community. The estate also makes thousands of dollars of donations to the parish that he was fired from, where the staff overlook his history and allow him access to youth. After learning about this I consulted with several pro-bono law firms who advised me that the statute of limitations would likely bar me from taking any action against the Archdiocese today. Eventually I posted publicly to Social Media about my experience in an effort to provide transparency to families he has access to today that are not informed about his history. In response, the abuser again threatened to sue me for defamation (but has taken no action) and posted his own narrative discrediting myself and others victims. It has been endorsed by many public elected officials who are praising him for his honesty and describing him as a wonderful, godly man and great example for youth in the community today. Some of these elected officials have posted harassing public comments about me, questioning my mental health, describing me as a hateful and jealous nemesis who is lying about him, and even encouraging their friends to “take me” whatever that means. One elected official contacted me and told me that the abuser has been reaching out to her asking her to publicly comment on my posts and tell me that i’m mentally ill and need to get help, and he’s insinuated that he will use funds from the estate to contribute to her re-election campaign if she supports him. I assume he’s doing this with others as well. I am wondering if there is any possible legal avenue to sue for defamation, either the abuser or any of the elected officials who are making these comments. I do not have any savings to use so it would have to be pro bono. Additionally wondering if there are any non-profit or advocacy groups that I might be able to contact that could assist me.