Three men in Cornwall are suing the Catholic Church, a former Crown prosecutor and a priest, in the latest development of a sexual-abuse scandal that has long divided the eastern Ontario city.

Albert Lalonde and Robert Renshaw have each launched $3.1-million lawsuits against the Roman Catholic diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, alleging they were victimized by a former priest, Rev. Charles MacDonald.

The suits name current Bishop Paul-Andre Durocher and his predecessor, Eugene LaRocque, for alleged negligence.

Lalonde, who alleges he was abused when he was an altar boy, struggled to hold back tears at a press conference Tuesday as he remembered running into MacDonald in 1990.

"It was not long after that I started having full blown panic and anxiety attacks," he said.

A third plaintiff, Stuart Labelle, has launched a similar $3.1-million lawsuit against former Crown prosecutor Jacques Leduc, who also lives in the Cornwall area.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Cornwall has long been plagued by allegations of sexual abuse of children at the hands of some of the city's most prominent men, including officials, lawyers and clergy. Some of the alleged crimes dated back to the 1950s.

A provincial police investigation called Project Truth resulted in 114 charges against 15 men, including doctors, lawyers and Catholic priests, but only one person was ever convicted.

In the other cases, the charges were stayed or the accused were found not guilty.

MacDonald and Leduc were originally charged in the investigation, but the charges were stayed after judges ruled that their rights to speedy trials had been violated.

The three plaintiffs said they've lost faith in the criminal justice system.

"I guess this is the last chance to get these people to be accountable, get them off the streets," Renshaw said at the news conference.

"So maybe your kids or somebody else's kids don't end up like us."

Their lawyers said civil lawsuits are more likely to succeed.

"There is a lower burden of proof. Fifty-one per cent is required in a civil setting," said Robert Talach, of the London, Ont.-based law firm of Ledroit Beckett, which is representing the trio.

"Whereas we have a very high burden of proof in the criminal setting, which is beyond reasonable doubt."

MacDonald could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Leduc declared his innocence and said he plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit.

The Ontario government recently announced a public inquiry into sexual abuse allegations in Cornwall.

On Tuesday, provincial Attorney General Michael Bryant told the legislature that the government hopes to name a commissioner to head the inquiry within weeks.