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  Attorney: Grand Jury Should Look at Priests

KSBW
June 3, 2009

http://www.ksbw.com/news/19650475/detail.html

Monterey Diocese Agreed To Settlement Friday

SALINAS, Calif. - An attorney representing a man who claims he was sexually molested by two priests from the Monterey County Diocese 18 years ago said a criminal inquiry should be made into how the church reports allegations of child molestation.

During a news conference held outside the St. Mary Nativity Church in Salinas, John Manley said those who knew about the sexual molestation of his client should be punished for not reporting the allegations to police.

"The grand jury and district attorney needs to look into this and make sure it doesn't happen again," Manly said.

Manly said that when his client's family told two priests -- Gregory Sandman and Charles Fatooh -- about the sexual molestation allegations, police were never informed.

On Friday, the Monterey Catholic Diocese agreed to a settlement worth more than a $1 million with Manly's client, who said that during the early 1990s he was sexually molested while an altar boy at the St. Mary of the Nativity Church.

According to court records, the victim's mother was laughed at when she sought $10,000 from the diocese to get counseling for her son.

In an interview with Action News nearly two weeks ago, Diocese spokesman Warren Hoy said that the church has made major changes during the past few years in how it handles sexual abuse cases.

"We have learned from our mistakes we have established zero tolerance policy and we do everything we can both to avoid any potential abuse and to address abuses as they come forward," Hoy said.

In fact, all clergy and staff who deal with children are now state mandated reporters, which means they must report cases of child molestation or else face criminal prosecution.

When the parent's of Manly's clients told church officials about the child molestation in 1991, clergy weren't mandated reporters.

Attorneys for the Diocese said Fatooh and Sandman didn't violate any law, so there is little chance of a criminal inquiry.

Both men continue to work within the Monterey Diocese.

The priests named in the victim's sexual molestation case, meanwhile, were Fathers Juan Guillen and John Velez.

Guillen was later convicted of molesting boys in Arizona and is currently serving his prison sentence there.

Velez tried to commit suicide after the allegations surfaced and was never charged. According to court documents, the diocese released Velez to a religious order in Mexico City. Manly said Velez's whereabouts are unknown.

Manly said the Tucson Diocese had already agreed to a $600,000 settlement with the victim prior to Friday's decision.

 
 

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