The law firm representing sexual abuse survivors sued the Orlando parish on Friday, planning to reveal “convincing and concrete new information” to support the boy who was murdered last year in Brevard County.
The lawsuit seeks damages from the parish on alleged negligence that 76-year-old Robert “Bob” Hefner (argued from sexual abuse of a child) died in a Palm Bay home on January 28, 2024.
Hoeffner spent 25 years in Orlando, including stint as a teacher at Bishop Moore Catholic High School before posting on Brevard. He retired in 2016.
Palm Bay police say 24-year-old Brandon Capas killed his priestly housemate and sister Sally Joanne Hefner, 69, and Kapas’ grandfather, William Michael Capas, 78, and was fatally injured in another residence. Kapas also shot and killed two Palm Bay police officers after being injured. Police said they could not identify the motivations or relationships between Kapas and the priest at the time.
However, a 76-page investigation police report shows that the priest bought Kapas Nissan Sentra and shared a bank account with him, and the two had a “strange” relationship.
After the murder, Kapas’ aunt, where he lived, told police she suspected Hofner had sexually abused her nephew, but the young man never told her, the report shows. Another relative described their relationship as “unhealthy.”
The 25-year-old man who now lives in New York is also known as Palm Bay Police after a shooting that told officers abused him when he was a boy. The man went to Catholic school with Kapas, but he didn’t know if Kapas and other children were also abused.
It is not clear whether the man who called the police was the same as the person named in the lawsuit, as his name turned black in police documents.
The lawsuit filed by Herman Law Firm in Boca Raton alleges that “groomed Father Bob (a former student at St. Joseph’s Catholic School) and made him feel special and ultimately turned him into a compliant victim.” The Orlando Sentinel has not identified any victims who are currently adults. The lawsuit also nominates BK as the victim. It is not clear whether these initials refer to Brandon Kapas.
The law firm will hold a press conference on the lawsuit Friday afternoon.
Parish spokesman Jennifer Drough said in an email today that Orlando’s parish “had been praying to the Palm Bay and St. Joseph’s community and all involved after his retirement in 2016 during Father Robert Hefner’s idyllic leadership.”
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The alleged sexual abuse occurred when the plaintiff was a seventh grader from 2014 to 2014 and on multiple occasions, in various locations, including the school’s counselor’s office, the priest’s Palm Bay home, and the priest’s car.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff frequently spent time with his friend “BK” at the priest’s house in 2013 and 2014.
“There, Father Bob sexually abused the plaintiffs in his bedroom many times. In many cases, following these abuse cases, the priest’s sister Sally waited outside the bedroom with BK.
The law firm claims allegedly negligence in the church and parish, claiming that clients suffer and “serious and lasting psychological, emotional, physical injuries, shame, humiliation and inability to lead a normal life.”
Hoeffner, appointed in 1973, moved from Orlando service to Palm Bay in 1998 and became a pastor at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Both the parish and associated Catholic schools have been appointed co-defendants in the 12-page case.
The parish said he moved to approach his parents who are in poor health.
The neighbor recalled seeing multiple men at Haifner’s home that matched Kapas’ descriptions.
On the day Hoeffners’ body was found, police said they could not find any evidence of forced entry into the home and “appeared to have made no noise.”
