Brown Abuse Claim a Mystery, by Rachanee Srisavasdi, Orange County Register, September 19, 2007

Brown Abuse Claim a Mystery
Bakersfield Police Do Not Know If They Investigated Molestation Charge

By Rachanee Srisavasdi
Orange County Register
September 19, 2007

http://www.ocregister.com/news/police-brown-bakersfield-1848039-investigation-church

Bakersfield police may never have investigated an old claim that now-Bishop Tod Brown of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange molested a boy 42 years ago.

Bakersfield Police Sgt. Greg Terry said Tuesday a former lieutenant in charge of the sex-crimes unit in 1997 – around the time when church officials say the accusation was reported to the Kern County District Attorney – did not recall getting the case from prosecutors. Nor did police have paperwork that shows if an investigation was ever done.

At a glance

What's next: Lawyers for a former Mater Dei student alleging she was abused by a former assistant coach and the Diocese of Orange will argue pre-trial motions Monday. Trial is set to begin Oct. 9.

Background: A deposition by Bishop Tod Brown was unsealed last week as part of the case. Brown testified that in 1997 he was accused of molesting a boy in 1965. He denied it, which was also deemed without merit by church officials.

"It's either the investigation was never done or one was done but it was unsubstantiated," Terry said.

Brown, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Orange County, testified last week that he was told by the Diocese of Fresno in 1997 that they just received a claim alleging Brown abused a boy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Bakersfield in 1965. Brown, who used to be a priest in Bakersfield, denies the claim.

Brown's unsealed testimony, which came out as part of an ongoing sex-abuse lawsuit at Mater Dei High School, sparked protests by clergy-abuse victims and advocates. They said Brown should have disclosed the accusation earlier. Brown said he did not reveal the allegation because it was untrue.

Fresno diocese officials also backed Brown, saying last week the allegations had "absolutely no factual or credible basis." They also said they forwarded the complaint to the Kern County District Attorney's office sometime after July 1997.

Kern County District Attorney Edward R. Jagels said he has a "faint recollection" that church officials gave him the case. He also said he forwarded the case to the Bakersfield Police Department for investigation.

What happened next is a mystery.

Bakersfield police have no record of the purported police investigation. If they did one, Terry said, they would have interviewed the alleged victim.

Brown's accuser, Scott C. Hicks, 54, who lives in Fresno, said he was never interviewed by police. Neither was Brown, according to his deposition.

Hicks -- who is being represented by the same lawyers suing the church for the former Mater Dei student -- said Tuesday he was "surprised and angry" that police may not have fully investigated his claim. He never went to police himself, saying he decided to go straight to the church.

"Law enforcement should try to get both sides," he said.

Jagels on Tuesday speculated Bakersfield police may have halted the investigation to see if prosecutors would even be able to file charges against the decades-old allegation. But he reiterated did not recall police ever coming back to tell him the accusation was unfounded.

Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said prosecutors could not have filed charges in 1997 because it was too late.

"It doesn't surprise me if this case fell through the cracks," Levenson said.

Contact the writer: (714) 834-3773 or rsrisavasdi@ocregister.com