Jury Finds Priest Molested Former Student (updated 6:50 P.m.)

The Record
April 6, 2012

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120406/A_NEWS/120409909

The jury in a civil trial against Lockeford priest Michael Kelly has ruled in favor of the plaintiff, according to the lawyer of Kelly's accuser.

Attorney John Manly said Friday that the civil jury unanimously agreed with the plaintiff, a 37-year-old man identified in court papers as John TZ Doe, was molested by The Rev. Michael Kelly while he was a priest at Annunciation Cathedral in Stockton and the plaintiff was a student at Annunciation school.

Kelly is currently at St. Joachim Catholic Church in Lockeford.

The second phase of the jury trial will focus on the Stockton Diocese's role in the abuse, Manly said.

Criminal charges were not filed, since the statute of limitations had run out. The plaintiff said he had repressed the memories and only recently recovered them.

Read Saturday's paper for more on this story by staff writer Jordan Guinn.