SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Contra Costa Times
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay a total of $4 million to settle four lawsuits filed by alleged victims of priest sexual abuse.
The suits were filed against defrocked Monsignor Patrick O'Shea, 72, who had escaped prosecution on molestation cases twice before because the charges were filed after the statute of limitations expired.
The largest of the four settlement awards went to Kenneth McDonald, who received $1.7 million. McDonald claimed O'Shea began molesting him in 1968 when he was an 11-year-old altar boy and student at Mission Dolores Basilica. The molestation continued for two years during trips to Lake Berryessa, where the priest owned a cabin, according to the lawsuit.
O'Shea has admitted in civil depositions to molesting some boys over several years, but claimed McDonald was not one of them.