Their civil suits, filed in Springfield Superior Court, follow three others that have been filed against Lavigne and the diocese since April. All the plaintiffs say Lavigne abused them at some point during the 1970s and 1980s when he served in parishes in Springfield, North Adams and Shelburne Falls.

Shawn Dobbert, who said Thursday that Lavigne molested him countless times between 1976 and 1986, said the cleric also threatened to kill him if he ever reported the abuse.

"The first time he raped me, he had literally threatened my life by telling me he could take the air out of my lungs," Dobbert said at his attorney's Greenfield office.

Lavigne made the same threat the last time he abused him, Dobbert said.

Dobbert, 34, lives in North Adams and said the abuse he suffered between the ages of 9 and 18 have left him too distraught to hold a full-time job or be too close to men he doesn't know.

He said he was constantly ridiculed by Lavigne for being overweight and was forced by the priest to beg for forgiveness after their alleged sexual encounters.

"He'd make me get on my knees, then he'd hug me and tell me he still loved me and he was still my friend," Dobbert said.

Lavigne's attorney, Max Stern, did not immediately return a call to comment.

Also suing Lavigne on Thursday were Andre Tessier, 43, of West Hartford, Conn.; a 31-year-old identified in court documents only as John Doe; and Francis Babeu, 37, a U.S. Marine captain stationed in Waco, Texas.

Babeu's brother, former Berkshire County commissioner Paul Babeu, also says he was molested by Lavigne. He has not taken any legal action against the priest or the diocese.

Babeu says he hasn't sued because doing so would preclude him from having his case investigated by the sexual abuse review board run by the Springfield Diocese.

"I want them to hear my case," Babeu said. "Lavigne needs to be defrocked. It's unconscionable that the bishop hasn't removed him from the church. It's sick."

Lavigne was banned from ever serving as a priest, but has not been defrocked. Now 61 and living in Chicopee, Lavigne last month completed the 10-year probation sentence he received after pleading guilty in 1992 to molesting two altar boys at his Shelburne Falls parish.

In 1994, the diocese settled a lawsuit for $1.4 million with 17 alleged victims of Lavigne.

Also named in the suits filed Thursday are retired Bishop Joseph Maguire and the Rev. Robert Thrasher, the current pastor of Holy Family Parish in Holyoke.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, John Stobierski, says Thrasher saw Lavigne molesting another one of his clients and never reported it. By doing nothing to stop the abuse, Stobierski says Thrasher shares responsibility.

Thrasher has repeatedly denied seeing Lavigne abuse the boy.

In a statement issued Thursday, officials for the diocese said Maguire requested a mental health evaluation of Lavigne in 1986, after he received allegations of abuse.

"The result of that evaluation was that Fr. Lavigne was not a threat to re-offend and he could, with counseling, continue his duties," the statement said. "The Diocese was aware of no further complaints concerning Fr. Lavigne until he was arrested in 1991."