Order of Dominican Fathers and Brothers in New York City

Germantown, MD: (Aug-23-07) Brandon Rains, now 21, a former altar boy at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, brought sexual molestation charges against Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, 56, a priest who served at the parish from June 2001 to July 2002. Sources confirmed that Cote worked as a member of the Order of Dominican Fathers and Brothers in New York City and was assigned as an associate pastor and youth minister at Mother Seton from 1999 to 2002. The allegations of sexual abuse were reported to Montgomery County Police on Aug. 14, 2003. No criminal charges were ever filed against Cote, police said. After the allegations were made in 2003, the order sent Cote for psychological evaluation, conducted an investigation and cleared him of any wrongdoing, said officials with both the local archdiocese and the Providence, RI, diocese, where Cote was assigned at the time. The Washington Archdiocese and the Dominicans were named as co-defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

In a settlement reached, the Order of Dominican Fathers and Brothers in New York City agreed to a $1.2 million payout to resolve allegations. The Dominicans, not the archdiocese, reached the settlement, according to archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs. [GAZETTE: ALTER BOY ABUSE]

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Published on Aug-24-07