Catholic Diocese and school in B.C. settle abuse lawsuit for $3.4M

VANCOUVER — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George, B.C., says it hopes a $3.4 million settlement gives an alleged victim of sexual abuse by a school teacher “some degree of restitution for the harm that was so unjustly inflicted upon him by his abuser.”

The settlement by the diocese and St. Thomas More Collegiate, a Catholic school in Burnaby, B.C., was announced in a statement released by lawyer Sandra Kovacs, who represented the anonymous man in the lawsuit.

Also named in the lawsuit was former teacher Alfred Patrick Quigley, who the anonymous plaintiff said sexually abused him in the 1990s.

Quigley taught at O’Grady Catholic High School in Prince George and one of the alleged assaults was said to have occurred at St. Thomas More Collegiate.

The lawsuit accused Quigley of “grooming” the plaintiff before sexually assaulting him in 1993 and 1994.

Quigley denied “each and every allegation” in the lawsuit in his response filed in the court, but he didn’t participate in the case as it approached trial and he couldn’t be reached for comment through his former lawyer.

The allegations were not proven in court and Quigley, now 75 and believed to be living in Newfoundland, has not been charged criminally in B.C.

“Although neither the Diocese nor the School were aware of the wrongdoing that occurred back in the 1990s, they have recognized and accepted the legal responsibility that arose vicariously due to the acts of its employee in these circumstances,” a statement issued by the diocese on Tuesday said.

“We hope and pray that this resolution will allow (the plaintiff) to continue his process of healing and may this healing extend to all victims of abuse.”

The lawsuit said Quigley was “unusually friendly and attentive” to the plaintiff, and took him to “sexually charged” movies including “Basic Instinct”.

The lawsuit also alleged Quigley took the plaintiff under his wing, gave him gifts, took him on overnight trips and taught him to play squash at a facility where they’d shower or go to a steam room nude together.

Quigley has been named in other lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court in 2024 containing similar allegations that have yet to be heard or settled.

Kovacs said the settlement was reached just before the case was scheduled for a 23-day trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, and though it offers her client financial restitution, the lawsuit was also about “accountability.”

“This man operated as a teacher for decades,” Kovacs said. “What we’re looking to do is hold the system accountable.”

Kovacs said the bulk of her practice now involves working with institutional abuse survivors, and cases related to the Catholic Church involve a “culture of secrecy.”

“That culture of secrecy and the clericalism, this idea that priests and religious men are superior to the laity, that creates I think a systemic issue that enables this abuse to happen and continually happen,” she said.

“That’s a problem that needs to functionally be addressed at its foundation in the church, and that has yet to happen.”

The diocese and O’Grady High School had denied the grooming and sexual assault allegations in their response to the lawsuit, and also denied allegations of “systemic negligence” and “wilful blindness.”

The plaintiff said in the statement that he’s continuing to recover from the trauma he endured, but is “now more hopeful than ever” for other abuse survivors to speak out as they “journey toward healing and meaningful justice.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press