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| Without a Tracking System, Church Sex-Abuse Suspects Could Be a Danger to Children
By Barbara Jones
LA Daily News
February 9, 2013
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22556978/without-tracking-system-church-sex-abuse-suspects-could
Leonard A. Abercrombie
V. NICOLAS AGUILAR-RIVERA
JOSEPH ALZUGA RA
Half of them are dead, a handful are in prison, a few have continued in the ministry.
And the rest of the former priests -- those accused in Los Angeles Archdiocese files of sexually abusing altar boys, parishioners' kids and schoolchildren -- could be just about anywhere.
Because of efforts by Cardinal Roger Mahony and his top aides to shield scores of suspect priests from prosecution, many have been free to leave the church and start new lives without anyone else knowing about their past.
Although the priests are aging -- the youngest is nearing 60, and most are in their 70s and 80s -- victims and their advocates worry about the inability of the system to track these alleged abusers and to notify the public.
"The frightening prospect is that the gentle man next door, who is so friendly and engaging with children, might well turn out to be somebody who has a sickness and disease that makes him a danger to children," said attorney Raymond Boucher, who helped secure a $660 million settlement in 2007 against the archdiocese in the sex-abuse scandal.
"They are predators in every sense of the word. They know just how to seek out those children who are likely to be sucked in by their charisma and magnetism. Their warm and engaging personalities is part of who they are."
Esther Hatfield Miller knows what it's like to be "groomed" by a charismatic priest. As a cheerleader at Reseda High, she was one of the many teenage girls who say they were lured into relationships with Michael Nocita, a now-defrocked priest who at the time was assigned to St. Bridget of Sweden church in Van Nuys.
"This is one of the things that is concerning to me -- pedophiles don't look like 'stranger danger,"' said Miller, now 54, who said she's spent years in therapy trying to deal with the trauma of Nocita's abuse.
"They have this nuance abut them that doesn't raise awareness that this guy is dangerous. Their coercion is very subtle."
In fact, the priests' ability to connect with parishioners -- adults and kids alike -- was mentioned in several of the extensive files, which have been reviewed by a team of Los Angeles News Group reporters and editors.
The documents released under court order on Jan. 31 also detail horrific allegations of molestation, and how church leaders transferred abusive priests from parish to parish in order to shield them from police.
Because the statute of limitations had expired by the time the molestation was reported, the priests were never prosecuted for crimes that might have landed them on a sex-offender registry and under the eye of authorities.
"The priests got a 'get out of jail free' card from the church," Boucher said. "It was something that was done with knowledge and intent."
As part of his legal battle to win unrestricted access to archdiocese files, Boucher compiled an extensive database in 2011 showing the locations of priests suspected of sex abuse.
By showing that disgraced priests were living near schools, across from parks or close to libraries, Boucher hoped to persuade a judge to include the names of the accused when the documents were released.
The first judge refused, saying the names should be blacked out. That decision was overturned by another judge who said the public deserved to know how church leaders had handled molesting priests.
While websites like bishopaccountability.org have tracked the legal cases against the priests, Boucher's database is believed to be the only one that shows the whereabouts of those accused of misconduct.
"It was a pretty monumental task," Boucher said. "We used last-known addresses, Internet researchers, our own investigators. Then we verified the location. And if we found out it wasn't accurate, it was figuring out where they went."
Using Boucher's information, the "Report to the People of God" released by the archdiocese in 2004 and its own research, the Los Angeles News Group was able to break down the files released last week. They show:
-- Of the 122 priests whose files were released by the archdiocese, 62 are reported to have died. They include Father Ted Llanos, 50, who killed himself in 1997 while facing a lawsuit accusing him of molesting altar boys over a 20-year period.
-- Twenty-three have been traced to neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties. Five others are in Central and Northern California.
-- Seventeen couldn't be located at all, although two may have fled to Mexico, one is believed to be in Spain and another in Colombia.
-- Eleven were convicted of sex crimes or took a plea deal for a reduced sentence. Four of them are currently behind bars.
-- Two continue in their ministry -- Father Joseph Alzugaray is assigned to St. Apollinaris Catholic Church in Napa.
Two other priests -- Sean Cronin and David Granadino -- are listed in the archdiocese directory as being on administrative leave.
-- Ex-priest George Miller, on parole for sex abuse, lives next door to Carl Sutphin, who was defrocked after being accused of molesting 18 boys, at a trailer park in Oxnard.
-- Some accused molesters got jobs in positions of trust and authority after leaving the church.
Donald Farmer, who served at churches in Glendale and Thousand Oaks, left the priesthood and became a family therapist in Fresno. He was accused in 2003 of molesting four children after befriending their parents. He denied the allegations and the charges were eventually dropped.
Joseph Pina -- an ex-priest accused of having relationships with young girls -- worked for more than a decade as a community liaison for Los Angeles Unified School District. The district terminated him when the files were released and officials became aware of his background.
Nocita, the defrocked priest accused of relationships with numerous teenage girls, worked as a color commentator for a local news station during Pope John Paul II's visit in 1987 and was later hired as executive director of the youth center in La Ca ada Flintridge.
He recently left his job in human resources at an abalone farming company and is reportedly living in Redondo Beach, but there was no phone listing for him.
A listing also was unavailable for Miller. Sutphin did not return calls for comment.
Victims advocate David Clohessy said the Catholic Church needs to do more to ensure that the community remains safe from priests accused of wrongdoing -- even if the abuse occurred decades earlier.
He said the church should cut off financial support to priests who have retired or been put on leave under the shadow of an abuse allegation. And if an active priest is suspected of abuse, Clohessy wants officials to put him in a secured treatment facility or turn his file over to authorities.
"These predators live almost completely unsupervised among unsuspecting friends, neighbors and co- workers, said Clohessy, the president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's an invitation to disaster."
Archdiocese attorney J. Michael Hennigan said the church has no way to track its former priests, adding that "they are like any other citizen" once they leave the church.
He also said the archdiocese is cooperating with law enforcement agencies that are reviewing the old files and has offered "enthusiastic assistance" in prosecuting clergy suspected of abuse.
This story has been revised to reflect that the Edward Casey identified in an earlier version, in residence at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Broomall, Pa., never was assigned to the Los Angeles Archdiocese and has no connection to its church abuse scandal.
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