Sexual abuse claims widen against former Catholic boarding school in Granby

A class-action lawsuit alleging sexual abuse at a former Catholic boarding school in Granby has been expanded to include the names of 11 religious brothers.

The lawsuit was initially launched earlier this monthby an anonymous56-year-old man, who says he was sexually abused more than 300 timesatMont-Sacr-CoeurCollege between 1973 and 1975.

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His lawsuit named one priest,Brother ClaudeLebeau, a member of the FrresduSacr-Coeur congregation, which ran the school at the time.

The claims in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.Lebeauis believed to be living in the Montreal area.

Since the lawsuit was launched, several more people have come forward saying they were abused at the school between 1940 and 1980, the plaintiff's lawyer said.

"Many people told us they weren't covered by the class-action lawsuit because they were abused by brothers other than Claude Lebeau," said Robert Kugler, one of three lawyers involved in the lawsuit.

"To allow victims to understand that they are covered by the lawsuit, whetherthey were abused by BrotherLebeauor another brother, we thought it best to modify the lawsuit."

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Kugler said around 30 people have so far come forward to say they were victims of abuse at the school. The lawsuit now includes claims ofabuse by both teachers and dormitory supervisors.

When the lawsuit was initially filed, alawyer for Les Frres Sacr Du Sacr-Coeur said the congregation will not oppose the class-action request and plans to co-operate during the proceedings.The congregation hasnot responded to the latest developments.

Mont-Sacr-CoeurCollege was an all-boys high school until 1990. The brothers have not been involved in running the school since 2008.

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