California diocese pays to settle case

The Diocese of Stockton, Calif., will pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that a former Roman Catholic priest raped a boy in a church confessional while he forced the child to say penance.

The settlement, announced Thursday, is the latest involving Oliver Francis O’Grady, a former Stockton priest who spent seven years in state prison for child molestation before U.S. immigration authorities deported him to Ireland in 2001.

O’Grady’s chillingly frank account of his decades-long sexual attraction to children refocused national attention on the clergy sexual abuse scandal last week.

In a 15-hour videotaped deposition, he admitted molesting 25 children, and described how he groomed his young victims for abuse. At one point, he looked into the camera, softened his voice, and demonstrated how he might lure a young girl into his arms, with the intention of fondling her.

He denies, however, molesting the man who just settled with the diocese.

Costa Mesa, Calif., attorney John C. Manly, who represents that plaintiff, now 42, said the O’Grady case was emblematic of the church hierarchy’s failure to stop predator priests or to warn parishioners of the danger.

“I think it absolutely shows that the Diocese of Stockton was culpable,” he said.

The diocese issued a statement saying it was “pleased to bring this matter to closure for those involved and looks forward to continuing its effort to reach fair and just resolution for victims of childhood sexual abuse.”

So far, the diocese has paid $14 million to resolve five claims accusing church leaders of failing to protect children from O’Grady. Three more suits are pending.