By Sunita Vijayan
The Salinas Californian
June 4, 2009
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040314
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| Warren Hoy, spokesman for the Diocese of Monterey, talks Wednesday about a $1.2 million settlement of a child molestation case. |
Local Catholic official says district has nothing to hide
An attorney for a man claiming he was sexually abused by two former Diocese of Monterey priests called Wednesday for a criminal grand jury investigation into how church officials report claims of child molestation.
On Friday, the Diocese of Monterey agreed to pay $1.2 million to the former altar boy, who claims that from 1988 to 1994 he was molested by two priests, the Rev. Juan Guillen of Tucson, Ariz., and The Rev. John Velez, residence unknown.
The victim, "John Doe," claimed church officials had mishandled the allegations, denying his mother's request for the diocese to pay for counseling, and discouraging his family from making a report to legal authorities.
"No one called the authorities, no one called the police, no one reported it as they were required by law," said John C. Manly. "None of these men were punished for what they didn't do.
"The grand jury and district attorney needs to look into this and make sure it doesn't happen again," Manly said.
He said his client's family went to two other priests to report the incident, one of whom said Doe "was not the only one this happens to, so he will be OK, it happens all the time and nothing comes of it."
Responding to Manly's statement, diocese spokesman Warren Hoy said Wednesday afternoon that there is "no cover-up" within the church, in terms of reporting child molestation claims.
Hoy said since 2002, the church has established a charter with a zero-'tolerance policy for those within its employ who have molested children. He cited as an example the April 16 arrest of the Rev. Antonio Cortes, then-parish priest of St. Mary of the Nativity Catholic Church in Salinas. Hoy said the diocese is fully cooperating with the police and has asked its parishioners to report any allegations to law enforcement. Cortes has been removed from his position pending judicial proceedings. He is accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy and remains in Monterey County Jail on charges including sodomy of a child, providing alcohol to a minor and possession of child pornography.
"We're not hiding anything and we're doing our best," Hoy said. "I think the church today is a good news story. We've learned from mistakes from the past. ... We've established a new policy a zero-tolerance policy."
Manly said in light of the Cortes allegations, it is especially crucial that a criminal investigation be conducted on the diocese.
As part of the settlement, the church has agreed to disclose all documents concerning the case. Diocese Bishop Richard Garcia will also personally apologize to Doe and his family. While settling the case does not mean the diocese did anything wrong criminally, Hoy said it does "acknowledge that things were done the wrong way."
Prior to Friday's settlement, a jury trial had been set for June 15.
The lawsuit alleges that diocese leaders knew the unsavory histories of both Guillen and Velez but did nothing to report the incidents to police or child protection agencies.
The molestation by Velez, the lawsuit says, began in 1991 while Doe was an altar boy at Christ the King Church in Salinas. The suit says Velez was removed from his duties right after the allegations were reported. He was replaced in September 1991 by Guillen. The suit says Guillen then began to molest Doe.
Neither Guillen nor Velez was ever criminally charged with molesting Doe.
Hoy said Velez is now "somewhere in Latin America."
Guillen, 65, pleaded to two counts of sexual misconduct with minors in 2003 for molesting a fourth-grade boy in 1999 in Arizona. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Manly said Doe received $600,000 from the Diocese of Tucson two years ago.
Lynne M. Cadigan, of Cadigan and Williamson in Tucson, is Doe's co-counsel. She said her client and his family are glad the lawsuit is resolved. Cadigan said Doe, whose parents were migrant workers, hired her in 2002 for the lawsuit against the Diocese of Tucson. She said Doe decided to report his claims of molestation after finding out his younger brother had also been molested by Guillen.
Cadigan said with Cortes' pending court case, she hopes more who have been abused will step forward.
"If this [16-year-old] can come forward and obtain justice, and put a priest behind bars ... I certainly hope other victims can come forward and not feel ashamed. It's not their shame, it's the church's."
Contact: svijayan@thecalifornian.com
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