Priest Accused of Molestation Leaves for Ireland

By Ian McDonald
Fox 40
April 16, 2012

www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-priest-accused-of-molestation-leaves-for-ireland-20120416,0,162782.story

Father Michael Kelly, a Catholic priest from Lockford, has left the county in the middle of a civil trial over molestation accusations, according to Bishop Stephen Blaire.

"This afternoon, I was stunned to receive a letter from Fr. Michael Kelly informing me he had returned to Ireland in the midst of the civil trial in which he is a defendant," said Bishop Blaire, in a written statement.

In Kelly's letter, he says the accusations have taken a physical and mental toll.

"I have sat back and listened to the vicious false allegations that have been spread about me for the past 4 ½ years, and my health has suffered greatly because of it," Kelly writes. "I am mentally and physically spent. The stress of it all is causing my health to decline daily."

Investigators in Calaveras County have been looking into allegations against Kelly since September, according to Bishop Blaire.