Another Black Eye for Mater Dei

By Gustavo Arellano
Orange County Weekly
May 15, 2007

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/blotter/another-black-eye-for-mater-dei/

[See also other articles by Gustavo Arellano.]

The culture of pedophilia at Mater Dei High School has hit the big time. Today, The New York Times examines the rash of non-clerical sex-abuse cases involving the Catholic Church. Mentioned in the second paragraph was Joelle Casteix, a longtime advocate for sex-abuse survivors who was herself a victim of a choir teacher during the 1980s. "Court records indicate," Times reporter Bruce Lambert writes, "that several other staff members—including teachers, a counselor and a coach—also abused students there." While we're glad the Gray Lady is letting the country know about Mater Dei's tolerance for teen rape, we do have one bone to pick: court records don't indicate, they show:

• Former track coach Bob Richardson was arrested in 1984 for sexually abusing boys on his team during camping trips to the San Bernardino Mountains.

• The same link above also shows that Mater Dei fired counselor Bernie Balsis and choir director Larry Stukenholtz for improper sexual conduct with students and filed the proper reports to the Orange County Social Services Agency as required by law.

• And let's not forget Jeff Andrade, a former assistant boy's basketball coach for Mater Dei demigod Gary McKnight. Last winter, Andrade admitted in a sworn deposition that he repeatedly abused a student and even had sex with her in McKnight's office. Andrade's victim is currently suing him, Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange for the subsequent cover-up.

Of course, this list only includes the non-priests who abused at Mater Dei—to detail the sins of previous Monarch administrators would take another cover story.

(More to come on Bishop Tod D. Brown's sex-abuse allegation after I land in Houston. Still on book tour—it's going great!)