CBS 2
July 21, 2009
http://cbs2.com/local/Denis.Lyons.Priest.2.1094667.html
SANTA ANA (CBS)
A former Orange County priest who escaped prosecution for allegedly sexually molesting a boy more than 30 years ago was behind bars Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy at a Costa Mesa school in the early 1990s.
Denis Lyons, 75, was arrested near his home in Seal Beach Monday afternoon, according to the District Attorney's Office.
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| Denis Lyons, 75, was arrested Monday. |
Lyons is accused of molesting the boy, who was between 7 and 9 years old at the time, when he was at St. John the Baptist School, according to prosecutors.
Lyons was removed from the church in 2002 after admitting that he had inappropriate sexual relations with adults in 1993. He was also charged with molesting a boy in 1978, the Orange County Register reported.
The latter case was dropped because of a Supreme Court ruling that stopped the prosecution of some older sex crimes, but the church paid about $4 million in settlements.
Lyons' alleged victim, 24-year-old Jonathan Kirrer, was allegedly molested by Lyons in 1994 and 1995 when he was at St. John the Baptist. Kirrer recently received money as part of that settlement, the newspaper reported.
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