Former Eureka priest accused of molesting boys sentenced to prison in Ireland

CALIFORNIA
The Times-Standard

times-standard.com
Posted: 03/22/2013

A former Catholic priest who once served in Eureka has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in his native Ireland for molesting two boys more than 30 years ago.

Patrick Joseph McCabe, 77, who fought his extradition from the Bay Area in 2011, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

Four Humboldt County men filed lawsuits in Sonoma County Superior Court against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in 2010, alleging they were repeatedly molested by McCabe when he was at St. Bernard’s Parish in the 1980s.

McCabe was transferred to St. Bernard’s Parish — which comprises St. Bernard’s and St. Joseph churches — in 1983 after molestation allegations began surfacing against him in Dublin. McCabe arrived in Eureka, reportedly just months after he was deemed a pedophile, enrolled in a treatment program and was placed on medications intended to rein in his sexual desires. He was transferred out of Eureka to a Guerneville church in 1985.

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