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	Former Priest Again Named in Sex Abuse Case By Alisha Wyman Union Democrat http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=28175 November 22, 2008 A San Joaquin county man filed a civil suit in San Joaquin County Superior Court Wednesday against a San Andreas priest who he says abused him between 1983 and 1985 beginning when he was 6-years-old. Oliver O'Grady has admitted to abusing at least 25 children while serving as a priest at a variety of churches within the diocese, including the one in San Andreas. He spent seven years in prison after conviction of child molestation-related charges and then was deported to his native Ireland. The suit also names the Stockton Diocese, the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly in Ireland, St. Anne's Roman Catholic Parish, Presentation Roman Catholic Parish and Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony. Mahony was bishop of the Stockton Diocese at the time of O'Grady's abuses. The diocese oversees parishes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Alpine and Mono counties. The suit claims the defendants knew O'Grady had a propensity to abuse children and failed to act to prevent further instances, according a 45-page court document filed by the victim's Newport Beach attorney, John Manly. Church authorities allowed O'Grady to remain in his position after they knew, or should have known, of his sexual abuse, the court document says. It may be the first time that Mahony has been named in one of the cases against O'Grady, said Patrick Wall, a former priest and monk who is working with Manly as a consultant. Instead of reporting the abuse, Mahony moved O'Grady to other parishes when new allegations surfaced and ultimately promoted him, according to published reports. Sister Terry Davis, a spokeswoman for the diocese, and the diocese's Stockton attorney, Paul Balestracci, said they have yet to be served with the suit and declined to comment. Balestracci said he was unsure if he would represent the diocese in this case or if another attorney through the diocese's insurance company would take over. The latest victim's accounts line up with other stories of the O'Grady's abuse, Wall said. O'Grady detailed his pattern of abuse in interviews for the 2006 documentary "Deliver Us From Evil." He grew more perverse from the '70s into the '90s, Wall said. "I call him the Hannibal Lecter of the clerical world because he is, honestly, one of the scariest figures I have ever talked to," Wall said. The alleged victim has experienced psychological and emotional trauma since the abuse, including trust and control issues, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, nervousness and fear, the suit alleges. He didn't realize his emotional and psychological problems were tied to the sexual abuse until the spring of 2008, court documents say. Under California law, the statute of limitations doesn't start until a victim realizes the impacts of sexual abuse, which can occur many years later. The suit is asking for general, special and punitive damages for the alleged victim. The plaintiff's attorney is also asking the district attorney to reopen the case in light of the new facts, hoping it will succeed in having O'Grady arrested or committed, Wall said. The story is a "heinous example" of abuse and cover up, he said. "The parents think they're doing the right thing sending them to Catholic school, and they're actually sending them to the lair of the lion," Wall said. "This lion should have been stopped in 1971, and instead they allowed him to continue on."
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