Dallas Jesuit Prep Sued Over Alleged Sex Abuse by Priest on List of ‘Credibly Accused’

Three months after members of the Dallas Jesuit community were named on a list of clergy “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of a minor, a lawsuit has been filed by a former student at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas.

The suit dates back to 1978 when it claims Donald Dickerson, a former Jesuit priest, sexually assaulted a student identified as John Doe.

It claims that while on a trip to Alabama to see Dickerson take his religious vows, Doe was part of a group that stayed in Dickerson's parents' home. Doe claims that's where Dickerson got him drunk and raped him after the others had gone to sleep.

Dickerson was one of 11 men who previously worked at Dallas Jesuit included on a list released by the Jesuits in December.

Tuesday school president Mike Earsing released a statement saying, “We reported to the community in December that Don Dickerson was on a list released by the Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province against whom there were credible allegations of abuse of a minor. We continue to ask our community to provide compassion and support for all victims of sexual misconduct and abuse. I don’t believe it would be appropriate to discuss the specifics of this lawsuit.”

Dickerson was removed from the Jesuit order in 1986 and died in 2018.

He was accused of sexually assaulting two other boys, an 8th grader in New Orleans in 1974 and an 11-year-old in 1982. Both cases aere settled by the Jesuits.