Civil Trial Continues, Even without Fleeing Priest

KCRA
April 18, 2012

http://www.kcra.com/r/30915796/detail.html

Father Michael Kelly left the country during a civil court trial.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) -- The civil trial against the San Joaquin County priest who has apparently fled the country continued Wednesday in a Stockton courtroom.

Father Michael Kelly, in a letter to Bishop Stephen Blaire, said he returned to his native Ireland to be with family due to health concerns.

The civil case was put on hold Tuesday due to Kelly's absence.

Judge Bob McNatt told the jurors they would hear from Kelly's earlier deposition, and can consider Kelly's departure when evaluating the case.

On April 6, Kelly was found liable by a unanimous jury verdict in the sexual assault of a boy in the 1980s. He was a student at Annunciation School, in Stockton.

Kelly is also under investigation in a similar case in Calaveras County.