Alleged Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Spawns Lawsuit in NY Diocese

by Jim Brown
December 2, 2004

(AgapePress) - A young priest is suing the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, contending he was suspended in retaliation for accusing an older male priest of sexual harassment.

Simon Howson, the rector of St. James Episcopal Church of Batavia, says in court papers that he was sexually harassed for several months by his superior, Dean Jerry True, and that the diocese failed to stop the behavior. Specifically, Howson alleges that True made unwanted sexual advances toward him over the course of several months. The young priest had complained earlier to his bishop, J. Michael Garrison.

Howson's attorney, Andrew Fleming, says Dean True was obsessed with his client. "There was an occasion where he showed up at the ... rectory, banging on the door in the middle of the night [and crying] out 'I love you' and [other] things like that," he says. "It's bad stuff."

Before being served the suit, Bishop Garrison acknowledged that Howson had complained about True last spring but said he believes that the charges are without merit. "After speaking with both men, I instructed them to stay away from each other and referred both to counseling," Garrison said in a statement. According to a report in the Buffalo News, True has completed the counseling but Howson has not.

Howson now claims he was suspended for complaining to the bishop and others. But Bishop Garrison claims Howson was suspended for "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy."

Howson's attorney sees a double standard in Garrison's handling of the matter. "That is the very opposite of what you would do if it was sexual harassment by, say, a man [toward] a woman," Fleming says.

"I mean, can you imagine saying to some 23-year-old secretary and 42-year-old male supervisor: 'Okay, now listen, you two seek counseling and just don't do that anymore'? The [supervisor] would be fired in a minute if he was truly sexually harassing the young woman."

The attorney says Garrison -- who supports the Episcopal Church's ordination of homosexual priests -- is more concerned about the cause of furthering the homosexual agenda than the well-being of Pastor Howson, who opposes the church's stance on homosexuality.