Child Sex Priest Flees Trial Home to Ireland
Irish Sun
AN Irish priest who sexually abused a child in California has fled here to avoid justice. Fr Michael Kelly was last week found to have molested an altar boy in Stockton city in the 1980s. His victim, who is now 37, took a civil case against him and sought damages. The jury in the trial unanimously found against on three counts of child sex abuse but Fr Kelly won't face criminal charges because the statute of limitations has expired. Kelly, 62, has been stripped of his position at St Joachim's in Lockeford, California, where he had worked since 2004. The shamed cleric, originally from Ballingarry in Co Tipperary, was supposed to testify this week at the second phase of the trial which focuses on the diocese's handling of the case. Instead, he fled, leaving a letter with the local bishop, Stephen Blaire. In it Kelly insisted he was innocent and whined he has chronic bowel problems, cannot sleep and is losing weight. He wrote: "I have sat back and listened to the vicious false allegations that have been spread about me for the past four and a half years, and my health has suffered greatly because of it. "I hope you will understand that right now I need to be with my family, whose support and love for me is unconditional. "I'm sorry for any difficulty this may cause the Diocese, but my health can't take it any more." Lawyers for the victim accused the priest of "running away" and insisted his sudden departure was further evidence he was liable.
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