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Former Lodi priest Oliver O'Grady, shown being interviewed in Ireland for the recently released documentary "Deliver Us From Evil," which depicts his life as a pedophile. One of his victims, who said he was sexually abused by O'Grady in the 1970s, has sued an archdiocese in Ireland over O'Grady's conduct. (Courtesy photo)

O'Grady victim from St. Anne's sues Irish archdiocese

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Monday, December 4, 2006 6:41 AM PST

Comments (33 comment(s))

A man who says he was sexually abused by former priest Oliver O'Grady when he was a child attending Lodi's St. Anne's Catholic Church has filed suit against an archdiocese in Ireland where O'Grady attended seminary some four decades ago.

The lawsuit filed recently in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, alleges that leaders at the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly knew that O'Grady was a sex abuser when he attended seminary there in the 1960s — before he ever came to Lodi and four other parishes in the Stockton Diocese.

"These guys knew he was a molester," said Orange County attorney John Manly, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of his client, who is named only John Doe because he doesn't want his identity disclosed.

The suit was filed in Oakland because all Northern California clergy abuse cases have been consolidated there.

"For the people in (the Stockton area), this is a very important case," Manly said. "This resulted in dozens and dozens and dozens of people's lives being ruined."

O'Grady was a priest at St. Anne's Catholic Church from 1971 to 1978. He later served at Church of the Presentation in Stockton, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Turlock, St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Hughson and St. Andrew's Parish in San Andreas.

He served seven years at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione after pleading guilty in 1993 to four counts of sexual abuse with children under 14 in San Andreas. O'Grady was paroled from prison in late 2000 and deported to Ireland a short time later.

His life is depicted in the recently released documentary "Deliver Us From Evil," in which director Amy Berg interviewed O'Grady and some of his victims, including Ann Jyono, who grew up in Lodi and was sexually abused while attending St. Anne's Church and School.

Manly said he went to Ireland twice and took depositions of the archdiocese's bishop, vicar general, seminary president and former president, plus two other individuals.

Manly said he found pictures of O'Grady dressed in drag while O'Grady was in seminary during the 1960s in Ireland. He molested many boys and girls wearing women's clothes, according to the lawsuit.

In a response filed in the Oakland court, the Cashel and Emly Archdiocese claims that the seminary O'Grady attended is not in the archdiocese's jurisdiction.

"It will be interesting whether the Stockton Diocese was aware (of O'Grady's abuse in Ireland)," said Nancy Sloan, Sacramento-area spokeswoman for Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

"I believe there are plenty of good people out there that you aren't desperate enough to hire priests who endanger children," said Sloan, whom O'Grady sexually abused in the 1970s.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Oliver O'Grady at a glance

Age: 61
At St. Anne's: 1971-78
Other parishes: Stockton, Turlock, Hughson, San Andreas
Arrested: 1993 in San Andreas
Paroled: Late 2000
Deported to Ireland: Shortly after being paroled
Source: News-Sentinel staff



First published: Monday, December 4, 2006

Reader Feedback

49 J wrote on Dec 11, 2006 12:21 PM:

" Mark 9:42 - The Man who spoke these words outranks all the bishops, cardinals, and popes combined. "

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49 J wrote on Dec 11, 2006 12:04 PM:

" Has anyone figured out why the church hiarchy protects perverted priest? Where do you think the church hiarchy is derived from? A PROUD, EX-CATHOLIC. "

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49 J wrote on Dec 11, 2006 11:57 AM:

" Raised and schooled in rabid Catholicism. Even convicts police their own. We should incarcerate mandated reporters who violate the law. Keep donating to the Priest Perversion Recreational Fund! "

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weetcure Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/html Subject: salt bcc: wordsmithone@yollowodp.com crispy rather than chewy, cooks can flip back bacon rashers as they curl away from the heat. lternatively, one can hold the rashers dow wrote on Dec 10, 2006 5:42 PM:

" cured7316@lodinews.com "

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OTH wrote on Dec 7, 2006 8:43 AM:

" After reading the editorial in this mornings LNS Cardinal Mahony has to be one of the most evil men on the face of the earth. If their is a God he is going to get his. "

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OTH wrote on Dec 6, 2006 6:58 PM:

" Lodian_74.........They have tried the chemical castration. Supposedly it works, but if they stop taking their medication there's a problem. That's what they were finding was while in prison they were forced to take their meds. Once the left on parole it was up to them. I have never heard of a cure for pedophilia that works for all of them. "

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OTH wrote on Dec 6, 2006 3:43 PM:

" To Considerate.........Are you a Catholic? Please do not talk about the sufferings of others until these victims have been addressed. All it amounted to was one big porno ring with those knowing about it saying not one word. The perpretators will burn for a long time. Many of those involved should spend the rest of their lives on their knees asking for forgivness They should not rise higher like nothing happened. "

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Lodian_74 wrote on Dec 6, 2006 3:12 PM:

" Will Castration ever be the option for these priests, who "just can't help it?" Yeah, I know people will be appauled by this comment, but enough is enough already. We're waiting for God to bowl a strike! "

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nylodian wrote on Dec 6, 2006 7:49 AM:

" Sam: exactly! Not just other church leaders but the same old ones. Cardinal Mahoney has been accused of the some kind of cover-up with another priest in his LA diocese. "

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Lodian wrote on Dec 6, 2006 12:01 AM:

" Considerate: You cannot ask for an adult decision from a child. Even adults have a hard time sharing their pain of sexual abuse and rape. How can you expect a child to make such a grown up choice to share something so incredibly scary to them? Especially when they still don't fully understand what is happening to them since the abuser was such a trusted priest to the entire family. It is ignorant, to say the very least, to expect so much from a scared little child. "

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Cont wrote on Dec 5, 2006 5:41 PM:

" if any one wants to support survivors they should go to survivorsnetwork.org or the voice of the faithful site "

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cont wrote on Dec 5, 2006 5:39 PM:

" Different victims handle crimes different ways. some lock abuse away/ some are not believed. some are afraid of words some don't know how to say it. some are afraid to tell parents, soem are afraid of authority. etc. BUT it is NOT for you to judge. AND we would MUCH rather ALL of them be in JAIL. And don't tell me to TURN the other Cheek Either SET! I was 25 years patient with the Diocese before filing. While they lied. Monsigner Caines Name is still on the RECTORY isn't it? "

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2 considerate from victim cont wrote on Dec 5, 2006 5:34 PM:

" I would think you have an interest in the subject as you say you know about it and you are posting. Yet you are Judging victims and without knowlege and placing placing blame inapprop. The victims more than once went to the Diocese and reported and the Bishops were MADE AWARE. (See Depos and Police reports). The Diocese was responsible for their employees not the victims or the parents. "

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From an O'G rady Victim wrote on Dec 5, 2006 5:27 PM:

" To Steve, Amen, OTH, Accountant, Zab and all those whom whom are NOT understand the dynamics of being a sex abuse survivor/victim EXP by clergy THANK YOU! To all those that took the time to see Deliver US from EVIL Thank YOU! I can't really say want to those that continue to attack like the person whom so humorously names them self Considerate... "

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sam wrote on Dec 5, 2006 12:55 PM:

" nylodian, I agree. How many Catholic Church leaders are out there now who knowingly are ignoring current priests with the same sick problem? The church needs to clean house and get rid of these priests. Expensive law suits and informing the public are the only things that seem to make the church take some kind of action. "

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Considerate wrote on Dec 5, 2006 12:40 PM:

" Who would teach their children that if a priest touches you it is OK to keep silent, to not tell the police? That is obviously wrong. So how can you justify sending that message after the fact. Only our civil authorities have the power to stop the pedophiles and they can not do it until a victim comes forward. I know more about this than most of you. There are victims suffering from guilt and all the money in the world will not buy the healing they need. All you people care about is punishing the Catholic church. "

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nylodian wrote on Dec 5, 2006 8:14 AM:

" OTH: I couldn't agree with you more!!! O'Grady is sick and needs to be locked up but to me Mahoney is the worse of two evils by knowingly putting children at risk. He had the power to prevent the abuse and chose not to. He didn't want anything to stop his promotions even at the expense of his flock. "

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Lodian wrote on Dec 5, 2006 12:34 AM:

" considerate: If you want to talk money...Think of all the money the church could've saved if they got rid of pedophile priests when they first knew of their sins against little children. I think you just want to get folks worked up because normal people don't go for the throats of innocent children when looking for someone to blame for the criminal acts of grown men supposedly committed to God. These are the worst pedophiles of all as they use "the cloth" to cover-up their pedophilia. There must be a special place in hell for this kind of evil. "

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Hmmm wrote on Dec 4, 2006 8:50 PM:

" Mrs. M, AMEN. "

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Mrs.M wrote on Dec 4, 2006 7:53 PM:

" This is a wake up call from God to stay away from the Catholic Churches! "

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digger wrote on Dec 4, 2006 5:46 PM:

" The pocket book is the only way the Catholic Church is going to deal with this situation. The cover ups are still going on today as strong as ever. Maybe when the catholic Church loses the bulk of its money they might become a real church again. "

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Hmmm wrote on Dec 4, 2006 5:21 PM:

" Considerate, what about the innocent children in the church that are the future victims? What has changed? The pope again saying it is bad? Oh yeah, that will stop the abuse. The Catholic church really needs to wake up and clean it's house. What are you doing to get the peverts priests out? Or do you believe it was only Grady who was evil? "

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zab wrote on Dec 4, 2006 5:17 PM:

" TO Considerate-NOT, maybe quite a more few law suits will make the Catholic church a bit more responsible for their SICK priests who continue to molest children. They still protect and shelter these perverts. Nothing has changed. I am not saying all priests are perverts, far from it, but there are enough still in the church to make me stay away. "

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Accountant wrote on Dec 4, 2006 5:03 PM:

" If you believe the church allocates a significant part of its coffers to social services, I encourage you to put that misconception through the same lens that has shed light on its gatekeepers and their "pastoral care" in ensuring the safety of children. The Church is the world's richest corporation. The Diocese of Stockton has most of its wealth in property, artifacts, jewels, and equity investments. The greatest recurring expenses for the Diocse are salaries. Most Catholic charity work is performed by volunteers. The bulk of the goods provided to the poor are donated by individuals. "

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Amen wrote on Dec 4, 2006 4:50 PM:

" to "Considerate". Are you kidding me?! Enough of the 'what if' attitude about taking $$ away from innocent children. You are emotionally removed from what the victim's experienced. They were kid's... try to remember what is was like being a kid. First, they probably didn't know what was happening to them, only that it was wrong. And also, they were manipulated by O'Grady and probably afraid to tell. "

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steve wrote on Dec 4, 2006 4:06 PM:

" I think considerate needs to be a little more considerate. You really need to see "Deliver us from Evil by Amy Berg." I'm sure you will change your mind about the victims of priest abuse. The Catholic Hierarchy is the one you need to address your concerns to not the victims. The hierarchy covered the abuse up and caused the mess the church is in today. To this day they still cover-up for their pedophile priests. You really need to read up on this before you make anymore comments. "

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OTH wrote on Dec 4, 2006 3:22 PM:

" Cardinal Mahoney, then Bishop Mahoney, knew what was going on and continued to transfer this animal to nre parishes. And yet he continues on the rise in the Catholic hierarchy. This man should have been tried as weel. "

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Considerate wrote on Dec 4, 2006 2:41 PM:

" What about the INNOCENT children who will suffer because the Catholic church is paying millions of dollars to settle claims by the victims of this evil man? Every dollar paid to the victims and their lawyers is one less dollar used for the care of the poor and homeless children who depend on the charity of the Catholic church to survive. I have sympathy for the victims who came forward to stop this evil man. I have less sympathy for those who did not. I pity them. "

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Steve wrote on Dec 4, 2006 2:15 PM:

" This quote is by Judy Herman: "It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, to hear, and to speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering". "

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To Considerate... wrote on Dec 4, 2006 1:52 PM:

" You are anything but. These people were CHILDREN when this happened to them, they too are victims. For you to lay the blame at their feet you are just as bad as the dioceese that sent this monster out to repeatedly molest these INNOCENT children. You should be ashamed!!! "

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Considerate wrote on Dec 4, 2006 1:11 PM:

" Although you didn't deserve what happened to you, neither did those who were victimized after you. Why didn't you tell the police and have this evil man stopped before another child could be harmed. Thank God someone finally had the strength to call the authorities who could stop this. The rest of you will have to live with the guilt that you didn't do enough and others suffered for it. If money helps, good luck with that. "

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Richard McIntyre wrote on Dec 4, 2006 12:46 PM:

" Christians might be confused as to which set of cheeks are referred to in the saying "turn the other cheek". Can someone please explain to these people that the set of cheeks mentioned are the ones without a crack. "

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To the person suing wrote on Dec 4, 2006 7:35 AM:

" I hope you get some compensation for going through hell with this O'Grady. He is one sicko! "

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Comments on this story are now closed.

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