Abuse Victims Ask DA to Investigate When Oakland Diocese Reported Priest

By John Woolfork
Mercury News
February 8, 2019

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/08/abuse-victims-ask-da-to-investigate-when-oakland-diocese-reported-priest/

The Bishop of Oakland Michael C. Barber personally greets first responders and their families as they leave the annual Blue Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The mass honors first responders and their families. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Concerned that church officials took too long to report a priest’s misconduct, abuse victims are asking the Alameda County District Attorney to investigate when the Diocese of Oakland first learned of child abuse allegations involving a priest who was placed on leave last week.

Representatives of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) sent a letter to District Attorney Nancy O’Malley noting that the diocese publicly announced it had placed the Rev. Alex Castillo on leave five hours before notifying Oakland police.

Clergy members along with teachers, medical professionals, law enforcement officials and others are required under state law to immediately or as soon as practical report suspected child abuse to police or child welfare authorities when they become aware of it. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor.

“There was obviously a delay in reporting, but whether it was hours, days, weeks, or months, is not entirely clear,” said the letter to Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley from Bay Area SNAP representatives Melanie Sakoda, Dan McNevin, Joey Piscitelli and Zach Hiner.

“We implore you to use your prosecutorial powers to not only investigate the very serious allegations against Fr. Castillo, but also to determine how long the Diocese of

Oakland delayed reporting those allegations to law enforcement,” the letter continued. “The priest may well be a threat to the children, and any cover up by the Diocese endangered boys and girls in Alameda County.”

The Alameda County District Attorney’s office and the Oakland diocese had no immediate comment on the letter as of Friday afternoon.

The diocese would not detail the accusation against Castillo other than to say it was “inappropriate conduct with a minor.” Sources say the allegations involve a victim who was a minor in 2016 when the alleged crime occurred.

The Oakland diocese emailed a statement to the news media at 5:14 a.m. Jan. 31 that it had put Castillo on leave and suspended him from any priestly duties.

Oakland Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said the department received a call from the diocese at 10:22 a.m. that day and dispatched an officer who responded after 4 p.m. to take a report.

The diocese has not said when it first learned of the allegations against Castillo. Spokeswoman Helen Osman said earlier this week that Castillo was told at the end of the day Wednesday, Jan. 30, that he had been placed on leave, at which point Chancery staff and priests were also informed. She would not say why police were not notified until Thursday morning, but said the diocese followed state law in reporting to law enforcement.

Castillo, originally from Costa Rica, was ordained in 2011 and served at Saint Anthony Parish in Oakley and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Fremont. In October 2017, Bishop Michael Barber appointed him director of the Department of Faith Formation and Evangelization overseeing adult ministry.

The Oakland diocese, like Roman Catholic dioceses around the country, has been working to reassure the faithful amid renewed outcry over sexual abuse of children by clergy following a report last summer by Pennsylvania authorities detailing extensive abuse and coverups.

The Oakland diocese last fall promised it would produce a list of all credibly accused priests in the diocese, but its release has been delayed.