CALIFORNIA
Monterey County Weekly
Posted: Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Mary Duan and Sara Rubin
A judge has ordered the release of documents and deposition transcripts in the case of Father Edward Fitz-Henry, a Catholic priest suspended amidst allegations he molested a teenage parishioner at Madonna del Sasso Church in Salinas, and may have abused other young boys in the Monterey Diocese decades ago.
Monterey Superior Court Judge Tom Wills’ decision comes after the Monterey County Weekly filed a motion to intervene in a civil suit brought by the most recent alleged victim, a man now in his early 20s who claims Fitz-Henry assaulted him multiple times while at Madonna del Sasso starting in around 2005.
In making his preliminary order, Wills ordered the deposition of Don Cline, a former Salinas cop hired by the Diocese to investigate the abuse allegations, to be heavily redacted before its release, meaning portions of the text will be removed or blacked out.
Wills also ordered Fitz-Henry’s own deposition transcript to be heavily redacted, and ordered the same for the deposition of Agnes Leonardich, the former Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese, and Father Nicholas Milich, a priest who allegedly knew about the most recent allegations against Fitz-Henry but failed to alert authorities.
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