BOSTON -- New sexual abuse charges have been leveled at the Boston Catholic church archdiocese, this time with the alleged incidents taking place within the archdiocese's Brighton chancery building.

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NewsCenter 5's Marnie MacLean reported that Garry Garland claims in a lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior court that he was sexually abused in the private chancery residence of Monsignor Frederick Ryan, a former vice-chancellor of the church who nows serves at St. Joseph's parish in Kingston, Mass. Ryan is also head of the Plymouth Vicariate, which includes 16 parishes.

Garland claimed that the abuse took place when he was a student and star athlete at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury. He alleged that Ryan took him to a restaurant in Boston's North End.

"At that dinner he was served copious amounts of wine by Ryan and became intoxicated," Garland's attorney Dan Shea said.

Garland claimed that after the dinner, Ryan brought him to the chancery office, saying that then Cardinal Humberto Medieros wanted to meet him because he had a bright future. According to the suit, Medieros hugged both Ryan and Garland, then watched as Ryan led the teen away to Ryan's private quarters.

Garland alleges that's where Ryan abused him and then took photos of the naked teenager, which he used to blackmail the teen into silence. Just last month, while Garland was in alcohol and drug rehab, he claims a magazine cover triggered his memory of the abuse.

"He suffered an inexplicable panic attack when looking at a picture of Bernard Cardinal Law on the cover of a Newsweek magazine," Shea said.

Shea said the alleged abuse led his client to bouts of depression and he self-medicated with drugs and alcohol.

The archdiocese, which had not yet seen the lawsuit, had been unable to reach Ryan or the alleged victim regarding the accusation as of Thursday evening, spokeswoman Donna Morrissey said. Ryan has been placed on administrative leave while the church investigates the allegations.

Ryan becomes the highest-ranking archdiocese official to be accused of sexual abuse.

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The scandal, which has spread to other dioceses across the country, broke after documents were released showing Rev. John Geoghan had been moved from parish to parish following accusations of sexual abuse.

Geoghan has been accused of abusing more than 130 children, and is serving a nine- to-10 year prison sentence for abuse.

On Wednesday, the Rev. Gerard F. Walsh was removed from his Worcester Diocese parish and his duties as state police chaplain after admitting he molested an altar boy more than two decades ago. He acknowledged in a letter that he sexually abused a youth when he was assigned to a Leominster church.