SEATTLE, July 21 (UPI) -- A man is suing the state of Washington for placing him in a Christian Brothers orphanage where he says he was sexually molested as a boy.
The lawsuit filed this month in King County Superior Court says the state knew, or should have known, the plaintiff would be abused when he was placed at the Briscoe Memorial School for Boys in 1959, Seattlepi.com reported Monday.
The orphanage, now closed, has been the target of other suits, most of them against the Christian Brothers and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. Plaintiffs say they were routinely sexually molested by other boys and staff members.
Lawyer Lorena Gonzalez said the state Department of Public Assistance used the confidentiality of foster-care cases to cover up its knowledge of what was going on.
"The state of Washington knew or should have known that boys were being sexually molested and physically assaulted at the Briscoe School," Gonzalez said in the complaint.
The plaintiff said in the suit he seeks damages for what he suffered at the school and the problems it has caused him since.
The state has not filed a response to the suit, and the attorney general's office refused to comment.
