State High Court Tosses 4 Diocese Sex Abuse Cases

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
The Record
July 1, 2012

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120701/A_NEWS/207010310

STOCKTON - The state's highest court has dismissed four cases involving defrocked Priest Oliver O'Grady in a decades-long sex abuse scandal that has cost the Diocese of Stockton millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements.

O'Grady, a former Stockton priest, was deported to Ireland after serving time in the 1990s for committing sex crimes against children.

Years later, O'Grady continues to be a source of ongoing legal problems for the Catholic Church and Bishop Stephen Blaire, who joined the local diocese in 1999.

But late last week, the California Supreme Court dismissed four complaints, upholding prior lower-court decisions that found the alleged victims' arguments did not meet legal statutes of limitations.

Attorney Paul Balestracci, who represents the diocese, said he could not comment on the cases until he has official documents in his hands.

"You also need to keep in mind that the four cases you're talking about, none of them were reported to the diocese," said Balestracci, who works with the Stockton-based Neumiller & Beardslee law firm. "The first notice we had of any of those claims was when the lawsuits were filed."

Balestracci said all four cases involve O'Grady.

The plaintiffs in the complaints sought damages from the diocese after allegedly having recovered repressed memories that caused them emotional and psychological problems. Due to the nature of the cases, they are identified in court documents only under fictitious names.

John Doe said he attended St. Anne's Church and its school in Lodi, where O'Grady served as a priest and counselor during the 1970s.

Doe said O'Grady sexually violated him on multiple occasions from 1971 to 1974. He said the abuse happened during car rides and confession, counseling and tutoring sessions. The man filed suit on March 2, 2009, nearly three years after retrieving old memories.

John K.J. Doe is a former altar boy in Ireland. He claimed to have been molested by O'Grady from 1967 to 1971 when he was between 7 and 11 years old. O'Grady was in seminary in Ireland for the Diocese of Stockton at the time. The plaintiff said the priest used his position of authority to sexually abuse him a few times a week, sometimes on church premises. Memories came back to him in June 2004, 33 years after the last sexual encounter occurred, according to court documents.

A man identified only as D.D. alleged he was subjected to "horrific and continuous" sexual acts while a parishioner at St. Anne's from 1973 to 1976, from the time he was 8 until he was 11 years old. Most of the abuse happened when the boy helped clean the vestibule, he said. His lawsuit was filed Dec. 22, 2006, when he was 41 years old. He claims to have repressed all memory of the abuse but began remembering in summer 2005.

And a woman identified as L.A. said abuse occurred at both St. Anne's and Stockton's Church of the Presentation. She said a priest and teacher sexually abused her from 1981 to 1984. The former Catholic school student was between 7 and 9 years old, court documents say. The woman said she recovered the memories in 2004 during an elevator ride. The scent of body odor and cologne triggered the traumatic childhood memories, court papers say.

The plaintiffs allege the diocese failed to protect them from a known pedophile. But the state Supreme Court's decision upholds a decision for the diocese.

The Diocese of Stockton is entitled to recover costs on appeal, but Balestracci said the bishop does not plan to claim or ask for the money.

Still, the diocese has settled various lawsuits involving O'Grady.

The notorious former priest admittedly molesting dozens of children and is the subject of the 2006 documentary film, "Deliver Us From Evil."

Twelve years after his deportation, O'Grady is serving a three-year jail sentence in Ireland for possession of child pornography.

And his name continues to surface in San Joaquin County. A 25-year-old unidentified man filed civil suit in May against the diocese, saying he was abused at 5 years old when O'Grady was assigned to St. Andrew's Parish in San Andreas.

Claims also have risen against other priests who are no longer with the diocese.

Blaire recently settled a child sex abuse suit involving the Rev. Michael Kelly, former pastor of St. Joachim Parish in Lockeford.

A $3.75 million settlement with former altar boy Travis Trotter, 37, was achieved shortly after Kelly unexpectedly left for Ireland before his civil trial in San Joaquin County Superior Court was completed.

Kelly is under investigation on a second claim in Calaveras County.

Blaire has said the diocese has made significant policy changes over the past few decades to ensure the safety of children.

"For more than 20 years, the bishop has reached out to all claimants offering assistance," Balestracci said.

The bishop, Balestracci said, "is very assertive in reporting anything that comes across his radar to law enforcement."

Contact: jrodriguez@recordnet.com