Oliver O'Grady

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Oliver O'Grady (born 1946) is a former Irish Roman Catholic priest who has raped, molested and abused many children in California from 1973 onwards. He wrote a letter of confession to parents in 1976 and a copy was given to the Bishop of Stockton at that time.

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[edit] Early life

Born in Limerick, Ireland, O'Grady was ordained into the priesthood at seminary in Thurles, County Tipperary during the late 1960s. He emigrated to the United States in 1971.[1] He served as a priest at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Lodi, California from 1971 to 1978. He later served at Church of the Presentation in Stockton, California, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Turlock, California, St. Andrew's Parish San Andreas, California, and St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Hughson, California.[2] He later claimed to having been himself molested by a priest at the age of 10. [3]

[edit] Crimes

In 1993 he was convicted on four counts of "lewd and lascivious acts" on two minors, the brothers John and James Howard, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Attorney Jeff Anderson said the Howard brothers were repeatedly molested between 1978 and 1991, from age three to 13. Anderson argued that church officials knew that O'Grady had abused children as early as 1976 and 1984, but had done nothing. In 1998 a civil jury ordered the Catholic Diocese of Stockton to pay US$30 million in damages to the brothers. A judge later reduced the amount to $7 million.[4] O'Grady was paroled from prison in 2000 after serving seven years, and went to live in Ireland after being deported from the United States.

In a 2005 video taped deposition, O'Grady revealed that he had abused as many as 25 children in and around Northern California.[5] However, in the film Deliver Us From Evil, he admits he may mentally block some of his crimes. Recently, there have been lawsuits filed accusing O'Grady of abusing children while even in the seminary in Ireland.

[edit] Deliver Us From Evil

O'Grady is the subject of the 2006 Academy Award-nominated documentary, Deliver Us From Evil. In the film, O'Grady states, "I want to promise myself this is going to be the most honest confession of my life." He then details how he preyed on children, and claims that church officials knew about his abuses, but protected him by moving him from parish to parish.[6][7] When questioned whether his bishop knew that he had abused children in 1976 and before, O'Grady confirmed this was true, and despite that he was made pastor of another parish.[8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Doyle, Paddy (2006-05-13). Holy Crusader. Irish Independent.
  2. ^ Farrow, Ross (2006-12-4). O'Grady Victim from St. Anne's Sues Irish Archdiocese. Lodi News-Sentinel.
  3. ^ A Glimpse at the Mind of a Pedophile
  4. ^ Lattin, Don (1998-07-16). $30 Million Awarded to Men Molested by Priest. San Francisco Chronicle.
  5. ^ Guccione, Jean (2005-05-11). A Glimpse at the Mind of a Pedophile. Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Griffin, Drew. Priest makes 'most honest confession' of his life. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
  7. ^ Piccalo, Gina (2006-06-26). Abuser Becomes Church's Accuser. Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Sex crimes and the Vatican:Transcript of BBC TV Panorama Programme. BBC (2006-10-01).
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