CALIFORNIA
The Record
By Michael Fitzgerald
Record Columnist
January 15, 2014
For years, I have wanted to forgive the Roman Catholic Church. Then yet another sex scandal comes to light, and I want to kick the cathedral over.
The Diocese of Stockton’s bankruptcy filing this week eclipsed the news that Father Michael Kelly was indicted.
A criminal grand jury in Calaveras County charged Kelly with three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child and one count of oral copulation with a child.
The indictment alleges Kelly began committing these sex crimes when the victim was 10 years old.
This is where I usually say innocent until proven guilty. But Kelly was already a defendant in a civil trial. A former altar boy claimed the good father raped him.
In midtrial, Kelly fled to Ireland.
So you’re presumed innocent, unless you go on the lam. Then you’re just another lousy fugitive.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.