DETROIT -- A former altar boy has filed a lawsuit claiming the Archdiocese of Detroit covered up sexual misconduct by a former priest.

Vincent Venturini, 18, of Macomb County's Shelby Township, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court against the archdiocese. In the lawsuit Venturini claims Timothy Szott, former pastor of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Utica, sexually molested him in 1999.

The archdiocese said it was limited in what it could say because it had not seen the lawsuit. "Obviously, this is a very serious matter ... and we are saddened when claims of this nature come forward," it said in a statement.

Szott works as the faith community relations manager for Habitat for Humanity in Tucson, Ariz. He has told his employer about the claims made in the lawsuit, executive director Michael McDonald said Friday.

"For the past two years, Tim is a worker in good standing, if not great standing," McDonald told The AP. "He's a fantastic staff member."

Szott was sentenced to 18 months' probation in 2003 after pleading no contest to possession of child pornography, and was permanently removed from ministry in 2005.

Observers said this could be the first civil case against the Detroit Archdiocese to actually go trial.