PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine State Prison inmate has filed a lawsuit against the bishop of the Diocese of Portland that alleges he was sexually abused by two priests.

The Portland Press Herald reports the lawsuit was filed Thursday in Cumberland County.

The suit states the inmate was raised in a devout Catholic family and was abused by two priests beginning in the late 1970s while living with his grandparents in Winslow.

The Associated Press generally doesn't identify sexual assault victims.

The inmate says the diocese knew of prior allegations against the priests but didn't remove them from the priesthood or do anything to protect children from them.

An attorney for Bishop Robert Deeley didn't return requests seeking comment.

The inmate is serving a 60-year sentence for the 1986 murder of his grandfather.