July 22, 2005

Ex-priest gets secret DA deal, SNAP says

CALIFORNIA
Daily Bulletin

By Brad A. Greenberg, Staff Writer

A support group for people abused by priests said Thursday that a secret agreement between the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the Diocese of San Bernardino was "tantamount to the FBI striking a deal with Al Capone."

In a scathing letter to District Attorney Grover Trask, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, accused Trask of helping to protect a former Chino priest charged with 58 counts of sexual abuse. (Read the complete letter)

"We strongly suspect that the diocese's secret deal is another attempt to manipulate and undermine your credibility and efforts to locate, arrest, and prosecute Fr. Jessie Dominguez and other molesters," the letter from SNAP stated.

Both sides said Thursday the agreement will not inhibit the apprehension and prosecution of defrocked priest Jesus A. Dominguez, who investigators believe fled to Mexico.

The agreement was related to Dominguez's personnel file, which Riverside County investigators seized Jan. 25 from diocesan headquarters in San Bernardino.

Posted by kshaw at July 22, 2005 08:13 AM