ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A priest suspected of sexually abusing a teenager in 2001 and 2002 surrendered to police Tuesday night, according to the Montgomery County Police Department.

The Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, 56, of New York, is charged with custodian child abuse.

Related: Watch The Report | Victim's Stepfather Speaks

The victim told police that the abuse began in 2001 when he was a 14-year-old altar boy and continued for a year, according to police. He attended Mother of Seton Parish in Germantown, where Cote, a priest of the Dominican Order, was a part-time youth minister. Cote counseled the victim regularly and during the summer of 2001 began taking him to an apartment where he allegedly touched the victim inappropriately and engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior in front of the victim.

"We're very gratified, the whole family was yesterday, that something's moving forward and that there's someone going to be held to account for what happened," said the victim's stepfather.

The charge is related to an allegation the Archdiocese of Washington received in 2003, according to the archdiocese. In 2005, the victim filed a civil lawsuit against the Dominican Order and the archdiocese. The victim received a $1.2 million settlement from the Dominican Order in 2007. The archdiocese was cleared of any wrongdoing.

"This is a bit of an unusual circumstance in that there was a separate civil suit filed by the family against this priest," said Lucille Baur, of the Montgomery County Police Department. "That civil suit is separate and apart from the criminal investigation that has been conducted by Montgomery County police."

The archdiocese said it immediately put the victim in touch with police when he first made the allegations and offered its full support in the current investigation.

Members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called the victim courageous.

"Today's actions proved that when victims find the courage to step forward, kids can be protected and predators jailed," said Kathy Lanni. "Justice can be done. But when victims stay silent, nothing changes, abuse continues and children suffer."

The archdiocese said it knows of no wrongdoing by Cote before he was accepted into the ministry.

Cote served at Mother Seton between 1999 and 2002. He served part-time at St. Jane Francis de Chantal Parish in Bethesda from 1997 to 1999. Anyone with knowledge of other inappropriate contact involving Cote should call police at 240-773-5400.

Cote was still being held Thursday.

The victim, now 21, no longer lives in the area. He has a full-time job but is still trying to get his life back on track.

"I think he's going to be working through this the rest of his life, but he's a resilient, amazing person who's come out on the other side and been open to the help offered to him to work through this with professionals," his stepfather said.

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