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	Judge Will Release Files on Accused Priest By Darren Barbee Fort Worth Star-Telegram March 12, 2006 http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14081615.htm FORT WORTH - State District Judge Len Wade ruled Friday that records concerning a former Arlington priest accused of sexual misconduct with seven women and girls will be opened to the public after details including accusers' identities are removed. Wade ruled last month that he would release the files of six other priests in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese who have been accused of sexual misconduct since the diocese was founded in 1969. But he postponed a decision on how to handle the records of the Rev. Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen, who now serves in Houston. At a hearing last month, Tu's attorney, H. Allen Pennington Jr., told the judge that two of the priest's accusers included in the files did not want to be involved in the case. Within a week, the two women involved filed court documents saying that they wanted the records opened and that they had not talked to Tu's attorney. "After reviewing the files relating to Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen, the court has decided that the files are court records and the record is insufficient to rebut the presumption of openness," Wade wrote Friday in a letter to attorneys. Pennington, of Fort Worth, did not return a message Friday seeking comment. In court documents, he opposed releasing Tu's files, saying any public interest in Tu's case had been satisfied through news reports and church statements. Bishop Kevin W. Vann, leader of the Fort Worth Diocese, said Friday that Wade's previous rulings met one of his concerns: that the accusers' names might be revealed if the files were released. But Vann said the documents are unlikely to be released early. Darren Barbee, (817) 390-7126 dbarbee@star-telegram.com
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