Man Sues Former Lodi Priest Oliver O’grady, Stockton Diocese

By Ross Farrow and Maggie Creamer
Lodi News-Sentinel
May 3, 2012

http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_69695489-c97c-504d-8b14-585af71e4efc.html

A 25-year-old man who says that convicted pedophile Oliver O'Grady sexually molested him in 1992 has sued O'Grady and the Stockton Diocese.

O'Grady, who is in an Irish jail after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography, was assigned to parishes in San Andreas and Hughson when the plaintiff was allegedly molested. He was a priest at Lodi's St. Anne's Catholic Church from 1971 to 1978.

In an unrelated case, O'Grady was convicted in 1993 of four counts of lewd and lascivious acts against two boys in San Andreas. He spent seven years at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione before being paroled in 2000. He was then deported to his native Ireland and has been defrocked as a priest.

The lawsuit alleges that O'Grady molested the plaintiff when he was 5 years old. The plaintiff said he was molested in the priest's bedroom in the rectory while O'Grady was babysitting.

The Diocese of Stockton said it found out Wednesday about the suit, according to a statement from Bishop Stephen E. Blaire.

He said the diocese shared a copy of the complaint with law enforcement authorities in Calaveras County. Blaire said the diocese has specific guidelines to make sure any accusations are handled appropriately and to offer any help to the victims.

"We have not yet had an opportunity to review the complaint. The Diocese of Stockton takes all accusations of sexual abuse very seriously," Blaire said.

The plaintiff is suing not only O'Grady, but the diocese and parishes where the former priest worked.

The plaintiff alleges that when the diocese and the parish found out about the allegations, they silenced the plaintiff and did not report the abuse to law enforcement.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff talks about a "conspiracy of silence," which he says was the diocese's procedure of hiding any allegations of sexual misconduct from the public.

"(The) Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants intentionally, conspiratorially, and fraudulently attempted to hide and conceal Defendant O'Grady's propensities and acts of sexual harassment, molestation and abuse from public scrutiny and criminal investigations," the suit stated.

The plaintiff pointed to what he said are dozens of priests and individuals who have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors. The lawsuit says that the members of the church should have been informed of O'Grady's "dangerous propensities and unfitness."

"The sexual abuse committed by Defendant O'Grady was a result of the tolerance and culture of sexual abuse fostered by prior Popes, former Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and laity," the plaintiff wrote.

A case management conference is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Oct. 2 in Dept. 41 in Stockton.

Reporter Katie Nelson contributed to this report.