Embattled West Palm Beach Priest Helped Speed Investigation

By Andy Reid
Sun Sentinel
February 5, 2016

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-priest-investigation-recordings-20160205-story.html

Before being branded a liar recently by the Diocese of Palm Beach, the Rev. John Gallagher played a key role in helping investigators catch a priest who showed child porn to a teenager.

Finger pointing over the handling of the January 2015 incident at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, and the church-leadership shake-up that followed, has pitted Gallagher versus diocese leaders in a public spat playing out in the media from South Florida to Gallagher's native Ireland.

But a review of investigative records shows that long before the recent church rancor emerged, it was Gallagher who helped convince a fellow priest to talk to detectives the day after that priest was accused of using a cellphone to show a 14-year-old boy naked pictures of children.

Initially, the Rev. Jose Palimattom, 48, told detectives he wanted to talk to a lawyer before answering their questions.

"I prefer that, to deal with a lawyer for the clarity of things," Palimattom told the detectives, according to recordings by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.