BishopAccountability.org
	Notorious Predator Priest Jailed, Clergy, Sex Victims Respond Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests November 11, 2010 http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2010_statements/111010_notorious_predator_priest_jailed_clergy_sex_victims_respond.htm Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com) We're thrilled by this news. Doherty is perhaps Miami's most prolific and dangerous predator priest and would have been jailed long ago if Catholic officials had acted honorably and compassionately. The fact that Doherty can't honor this simple restriction is proof that he is out of control and can't be trusted. This is not, however, the time to be complacent. It's still critical that others with information about his crimes call law enforcement. Many times we've seen shrewd predator priests get top notch defense lawyers, exploit legal technicalities, and walk free. So we beg those who saw, suspected or suffered Doherty's crimes to contact the police, get some help, start their recovery and safeguard other kids. (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 22 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com) http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-doherty-priest-evaluation-20101110,0,3587415.story Ex-priest accused of sexual battery jailed after being found competent Neil Doherty violated electronic monitoring eight times, official says A retired priest accused of molesting, drugging and raping a boy will await his trial in jail after his GPS monitor signaled that he wasn't at home when he was supposed to be. Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes said Wednesday she reviewed a psychological evaluation of Neil Doherty, 67, that found he recognizes what he is accused of and is competent. "Mr. Doherty has shown that he cannot comply with orders of the court and he comes back with bogus explanations," Holmes said. "I cannot set a bond for a person who consistently and on a regular basis violates court orders." In a court hearing Monday, a pre-trial release officer said it was the eighth time Doherty had disconnected from his GPS monitoring system. The judge said she couldn't think of a better way to keep track of Doherty's whereabouts than to keep him in the Broward County Jail until his trial, for which a date has not been set. Arrested in January 2006, Doherty is accused of repeatedly drugging and raping a boy, now an adult, from when he was 7 to 14, in the 1990s. If convicted, Doherty faces from 25 years to life in prison. Since March 2006, the former priest at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Margate had been under house arrest with electronic monitoring while awaiting trial. He was arrested last week because he was away from his Lake Worth home for 17 minutes last month, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Doherty told authorities he was attending a funeral when the GPS monitor lost contact, said Sheriff's Office Spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. Tonya Alanez can be reached at tealanez@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4542.
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