Testimony of Bishop Tod Brown Unsealed Today As Part of Ongoing Litigation in Child Sex-Abuse Accusation
By Rachanee Srisavasdi
Orange County Register
September 13, 2007
http://www.ocregister.com/news/diocese-abuse-brown-1844768-church
Bishop Tod Brown testified under oath that he was accused of molesting a boy while he was a priest at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, but that he did not report it because he found it embarrassing, according to a plaintiff's attorney.
A diocese spokesman could not give immediate comment on Brown's testimony.
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REMOVING PROTEST SIGNS: Thursday morning, Catholic church sexual abuse survivors Joelle Casteix, 36, and Paul Livingston, 41, remove signs from a stairway outside a Santa Ana courtroom after bailiffs asked they to remove them.q4 Photo by Bruce Chambers, the Orange County Register |
The deposition of the highest-ranking church official was unsealed today as part of an ongoing sex-abuse lawsuit. Attorneys for the Diocese of Orange sought to keep parts of Brown's testimony – his first-ever testimony regarding abuse allegations – under wraps, citing privacy concern regarding Msgr. John Urell.
Brown testified Monday that he was accused of molestation while he served at the Diocese of Fresno more than 25 years ago. He said the accusation was investigated internally by the church, but never disclosed to police, attorney Vince Finaldi said.
"He testified that he found it embarrassing," he added.
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BURNED: Thursday morning, Catholic church sexual abuse survivors Joelle Casteix, 36, and Paul Livingston, 41, burned a copy of Bishop Tod D. Brown's "Covenant with the Faithful" outside a Santa Ana courtroom. They are protesting Brown's decision to have his recent deposition in a new abuse case sealed. Photo by Bruce Chambers, the Orange County Register |
Brown also testified that Urell – who broke down during his deposition – was sent Thursday to Southdown Institute in Canada, said Finaldi. The hospital, which offers psychological treatment for clergy, has been visited by former clergy accused of sex abuse. Urell used to field child sex-abuse complaints for the diocese, and in records made public during the church's 2005 $100 million settlement with victims, has been accused of covering up past allegations.
Urell's lawyer, Patrick Hennessey, said his client has never been accused of abuse, and was not at Southdown for any such treatment.
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SHREDDED: Thursday morning, Catholic church sexual abuse survivors Joelle Casteix, 36, and Paul Livingston, 41, tore up a copy of Bishop Tod D. Brown's "Covenant with the Faithful" outside a Santa Ana courtroom. They are protesting Brown's decision to have his recent deposition in a new abuse case sealed. Photo by Bruce Chambers, the Orange County Register |
This morning, Superior Court Judge Gail Andler denied diocese attorneys' motion to seal parts of the deposition, saying the church's privacy concern was too vague, Finaldi said.
Of the judge's decision, Peter Callahan, lead attorney for the diocese said: "A judge makes the ruling and we abide by it."
The Register has not yet reviewed the deposition, which will be released later today.
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Tod Brown, bishop of Orange Diocese, during an ordination ceremony last year in Garden Grove. Photo by The Register |
The legal battles stem from a lawsuit brought by a former Mater Dei High School student who alleges she had a two-year sexual relationship with then-coach Jeffrey Andrade when she was a minor. The now 26-year-old woman, who goes by Jane C.R. Doe in court, is suing the diocese and Andrade, who has admitted to the abuse.
A hearing will continue this afternoon, and the case is scheduled for trial Monday.
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