GERMANTOWN, Md., July 3 (UPI) -- A Catholic priest who allegedly molested an altar boy is facing child abuse charges after surrendering himself to authorities, officials said.
Former alter boy, Brandon Rains, accused Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, 56, of sexual abuse and lodged a lawsuit against him in 2005, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Cote worked as an associate pastor in 2001 and 2002 at Mother Seton parish in Germantown, Md., when the alleged abuse took place, the newspaper said.
Officials said Cote turned himself in to police and entered a not-guilty plea after he found out authorities would issue an arrest warrant for him.
Police said Cote is accused of bringing Rains to his Germantown apartment in 2001, when the former altar boy was 14-years-old, and engaging "in inappropriate personal sexual activity in the victim's presence and inappropriate touching of the victim."
The suit alleges the abuse continued for about a year.
The Catholic religious order Cote belongs to, Dominican Friars, Province of St. Joseph, last year said it would give Rains $1.2 million to settle the lawsuit he lodged against Cote and the order, the Post said.
