Date Published: 5/16/2008

Publication: First Coast News (Jacksonville FL)

Links:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?
storyid=109303

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/

http://pokrov.org/display.asp?ds=Article&id=688

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Father's Day cards are now part of the mounting
legal paperwork in a lawsuit involving a former local Greek Orthodox
priest and a teenage boy.

The Very Reverend Nicholas Graff is being sued by the mother and
grandparents of the boy identified as "John Doe" because of his age
at the time.

Until last June Graff served as a religious leader at the St. John
the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Jacksonville.

The lawsuit alleges that obsessive and inappropriate behavior by
Graff escalated into sexual misconduct.

The boy was 10 years old at the time, according to court documents.

In the fall of 2006, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
conducted an investigation based on allegations of sexual misconduct
by Graff.

Just this week, a judge handling the case ordered that records
involving Graff's treatment at St. Luke's Institute in Maryland
become part of the record.

The church-run treatment facility helps clergy with a wide range of
problems.

The lawsuit outlines that in the summer of 2003, Graff offered
$300,000 to the boy's mother if she surrendered parental rights. The
boy's mother refused the offer, according to court documents.

Also part of the legal paperwork is a letter that from a local
dentist office that shows that Graff identified himself as the boy's
parent when seeking dental services.