Scott Anthony Gastal, who at age 11 had testified in court in the 1980s that his priest had raped him, was beaten to deathThe clergy abuse survivor who effectively ignited the US Catholic church’s reckoning with clerical molestation when – at age 11 – he testified in the 1980s that his priest had raped him was recently beaten to death in south-west Louisiana.Scott Anthony Gastal, whose later life was marked by legal struggles after enduring child sexual abuse at the hands of notorious clergy predator Gilbert Gauthe, was 50. Continue reading...
Scott Anthony Gastal, a clergy abuse survivor who testified against his abuser, priest Gilbert Gauthe, in the 1980s and ignited the US Catholic church's reckoning with clerical molestation, was recently beaten to death in Louisiana at age 50. His testimony and lawsuit against the Lafayette diocese led to revelations about Gauthe's abuse and broader exposure of clergy abuse across the US.
