Survivor of Sexual Abuse by Father Raoul Deveau Speaks Out About Claim Against Yarmouth Diocese

I have been retained to represent two women who allege they were sexually abused by a former priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth, Father Raoul Deveau.

Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC’s The Current, interviewed one of my clients. You can listen to the interview here.

Secrets Protect the Abusers

I was moved by one of the statements made by my client, Linda:

“This is so wrong. You’re tired of hiding the secrets. They need to come out and people need to be made aware of that,”

Shame

After the interview aired I was contacted by a lady who had listened to the interview. She was calling me to express her shame. I assumed she meant the shame that most survivors of sexual abuse experience.

But what she told me was that she was ashamed because the first emotion she felt when she heard the interview…was relief. Relief that she wasn’t the only person that had been sexually abused by the priest.

She was ashamed that she felt relief because someone else had experienced the same horrible experiences she had gone through!

In Sexual Abuse Settlements Empower Victims to Come Forward I discussed an article by Frank Douglas where he stated:

“…when the predators’ names come out, other victims of the same perpetrator are often empowered to come forward.”

I couldn’t agree more.

So if there is one message that I have for survivors of childhood abuse, it is: You are not alone!

For the last 18 years I have dedicated my practice to helping survivors of sexual abuse. If you or a loved one have been a victim of sexual abuse you can contact me for a free copy of my book: The Survivor’s Guide to Abuse Compensation Claims.