ZILLAH — The Yakima Diocese is once again being sued over sex abuse by a priest.
This time a former Yakima County man claims he was raped by a deacon. The alleged victim was 17-years-old at the time. He claims Reverend Aaron Ramirez invited him to the Resurrection Catholic Church in Zillah back in 1999.
The teen showed up under the guise of receiving guitar lessons, but says the deacon got him drunk and raped him when he passed out. The alleged victim says he went to police immediately but couldn’t remember exactly what happened, so Ramirez wasn’t prosecuted.
People in Zillah told KIMA they’re shocked and upset.
“For anyone who does anything like that, there needs to be some kind of punishment,” said Tyler Wellner. “However you feel about the justice system of the judicial system there needs to be some kind of punishment for that.”
The civil suit is being handled by Tamaki Law which has successfully sued over priest sex abuse before.