East Bay, CA, priest charged with sexually abusing child facing nearly five years in prison
Hector David Mendoza-Vela served as priest in Fremont,
San Lorenzo churches
By JOSEPH GEHA | Bay Area News Group
An East Bay priest who repeatedly sexually assaulted a child is facing nearly five years in state prison, officials said.
Hector David Mendoza-Vela on Friday pleaded no contest to five counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child age 14 or 15, court documents show.
Last month, he pleaded not guilty to 30 criminal counts filed against him in April by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
Mendoza-Vela is facing four years and eight months in prison under a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office, according to Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for the office.
He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life, and must stay away from the victim for 10 years, Drenick said.
As part of the agreement, the remaining 25 charges against him were dismissed, court records show. He will be sentenced on Sept. 27 at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.
Mendoza-Vela, also known as Father David Mendoza-Vela, had served as a priest in Alameda County since 2013, working at St. John’s Catholic Church in San Lorenzo and more recently at Corpus Christi Church in Fremont.
Prosecutors said previously that in an interview with authorities, Mendoza-Vela, “confessed to inappropriately touching” the genitals of a 14- or 15-year-old boy over his pants “at least 20 times” from June 2016 through December 2017, while he was a priest at St. John’s.
He was arrested on March 28 after officers from the Alameda County Sheriff’s special victims unit recorded him on a phone call apologizing to the victim for touching his genitals while knowing he was 14 when the abuse began, authorities said.
Prosecutors said that in the 18-month span, Vela inappropriately touched the boy “a minimum of 30 times in his genital area,” and during one of the incidents, “Vela inserted one of his bare hands inside (the boy’s) pants and touched his bare penis.”
Authorities said Vela wrote the victim’s family an apology letter after his interview with investigators.
After the priest’s arrest in March, Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland said he placed Mendoza-Vela on administrative leave, according to a letter to parishioners posted on Corpus Christi’s website.
On Wednesday, the Barber said they were aware of the latest legal developments, and released the following statement: “We will begin the canonical (church) process regarding his status in the church…I pray all can understand how seriously we are addressing this scourge of clergy sexual abuse, not just by our words, but by our actions.”
Mendoza-Vela was born Feb. 21, 1977, in El Salvador, according to the Diocese. He came to the United States in 2008, and is a legal resident of the U.S. He was ordained May 18, 2013, for the Diocese.
A 2008 article in The Catholic Voice, an online publication of the Oakland Diocese, said Mendoza-Vela considered “his vocation as ‘a call to serve the people of God, even in small things.’”
He is still being held without bail in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, county inmate records show.
The district attorney’s office had set up a confidential hotline telephone number so anyone who may have been victimized by Vela or has additional information about him can leave a confidential message. The number for the hotline is 510-272-6395, the office said.
Here is the list of 40 Vermont priests credibly accused of child sex abuse
Elizabeth Murray, Burlington Free Press 
Bishop Christopher Coyne, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, release priest sex abuse report on Thursday, August 22, 2019. Ryan Mercer, Free Press Staff Writer
A seven-member lay committee appointed by Bishop Christopher Coyne read through more than 50 priest personnel files over nine months and compiled the list of priests against whom allegations were credible and substantiated.
The committee — comprised of three women and four men — included one priest abuse survivor and one non-Catholic.
According to the report, the committee adopted a standard used by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, New York, to guide decisions on what allegations were considered credible. They agreed that "credible" was defined as an allegation that meets one or more of the following thresholds based on the facts of the case:
"We determined there must be at least — a "fair probability" — based on the information we were given access to, that a particular priest had either sexually abused a child under the age of 18 or created a 'substantial risk' that the child would be sexually abused," the report states.
The Review Committee considered complaints from 1950 to present, and looked through more than 50 files of priests who had been identified as having some kind of claim made against them. The report states that within the time period of interest, 419 priests had been assigned in the Diocese of Burlington.
That's pretty close to 10%, and those are only the ones we know about.
None of the priests named in the report are still in ministry, Coyne said.
Coyne and members of the lay committee acknowledged that there is still work to be done and encouraged others who had been abused to come forward. Coyne said there may be more information out there that he and the committee were not aware of during the review.
The list of priests that follows has been condensed for length and clarity. To view the entire report, visit vermontcatholic.org/promise.
Robert J. Baffa — Served in Vermont 1966-2002; deceased
Donald A. Bean — Served in Vermont 1970-1994; deceased
James E. Beauregard — Served in Vermont 1970-1999; deceased
Conrad A. Bessette — Served in Vermont 1973-1990; living
Paul M. Bresnahan — Served in Vermont 1954-2002; deceased
Donald A. Bruneau — Served in Vermont 1954-1994; deceased
James J. Campbell — Served in Vermont 1962-1965; presumed dead
Leo J. Courcy Jr. — Served in Vermont 1962-February 1965, February to December 1966, and January to May 1971; living
Robert E Devoy — Served in Vermont 1903-1955; deceased
Joseph H. Dussault — Served in Vermont 1934-1978; deceased
John F. Eastman — Served in Vermont 1946-1953; presumed dead
James F. Foley — Served in Vermont 1949-1979; deceased
Edward C. Foster — Served in Vermont 1951-1967 and 1990-1991; deceased
William P. Gallagher — Served in Vermont 1965-2002; deceased
Edward J. Gelineau — Served in Vermont 1942-1990; deceased
John A. Guischard — Served in Vermont 1968-1991; deceased
John B. "Jack" Kenney — Served in Vermont 1957-1966 and 1994-1997; living
Dennis J. LaRoche — Served in Vermont 1987-1992; living
Michael K. Madden — Served in Vermont 1970-1988; deceased
Charles G. Many — Served in Vermont ministry 1981-1986, Edmundite Generalate 1986-1994; living
James J. McShane Jr. — Served in Vermont 1966-2002; living
Brian E. Mead — Served in Vermont 1969-2002; living
Walter D. Miller — Served in Vermont 1961-1966 and 1974-2004; deceased
Joseph Maxime Mooney — Served in Vermont 1917-1956; deceased
George O. Murtagh — Served in Vermont 1950-1958 and 1963-1987; deceased
Stephen J. Nichols — Served in Vermont 1986-2007; living
Edward O. Paquette — Served in Vermont 1972-1978; living
George A. Paulin — Served in Vermont 1970 -2003; living
Raymond C. Provost — Served in Vermont 1936-1975, but continued to help in Winooski parishes until 1995; deceased
Daniel F. Roberts — Served in Vermont 1946-1980; deceased
Forest W. Rouelle — Served in Vermont 1956-1998; deceased
Emile W. Savary — Served in Vermont 1954-1966; deceased Ronald A. Soutiere — Served in Vermont 1974-1983 and 1999-2002; living
Richard E. Thompson — Served in Vermont 1968-1984; deceased
Charles A. Towne — Served in Vermont 1931-1972; deceased
Raymond D. Walsh — Served in Vermont 1954-1998; deceased
Donal D. Ward — Served in Vermont 1963-1967 and 1976-2002; deceased
Alfred Willis — Served in Vermont 1976-1981; living
Benjamin D. Wysolmerski — Served in Vermont 1950-1993; deceased
Mark L. Quillen (also known as Andrew Quillen) — Served in Vermont 1990-1994; credibly accused of abuse in Diocese in Davenport, Iowa, but no allegations in Vermont; living
Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas, church and suicided priest cited in child sex-abuse suit
by Ron Wood Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FAYETTEVILLE -- An unidentified person has sued the Diocese of Little Rock and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tontitown, claiming they were negligent for allowing a priest to sexually abuse him.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of "John Doe 201" and says the priest involved was Joseph Correnti, who committed suicide in 2002.
The Washington County Circuit Court lawsuit claims "Doe 201" was sexually battered by Correnti when "Doe" was 14 to 15 years old. The suit says Correnti served at St. Joseph from 1995 to 2002.
"Doe 201" discovered the effects within the past three years of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Correnti, according to the lawsuit.
Rick Woods filed the lawsuit, which contends that there are at least five known victims of Correnti's sexual abuse.
The diocese knew, or should have known, of Correnti's "sexual misconduct, impulses, and behavior," according to the lawsuit. But, it allowed Correnti to have unlimited contact with children, including "Doe 201," the suit claims.
"Defendants had the duty to protect the moral purity of plaintiff and other Roman Catholic children within the Diocese of Little Rock and at St. Joseph's Catholic Church," according to the lawsuit. "Defendants breached their duties by exposing plaintiff to a known pedophile."
The church and diocese failed to follow policies and procedures designed to prevent child sex abuse or failed to implement sufficient policies, and didn't warn parents there was a risk of child sex abuse, according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that the church failed to report Correnti's actions to police.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for severe and permanent psychological, emotional and physical injuries, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life.
"Doe 201" also continues to incur expenses for medical and psychological treatment, therapy, and counseling, and cannot lead a normal life, according to the lawsuit.
Correnti committed suicide April 3, 2002, according to Fayetteville police and the Washington County coroner. He left a note alluding to the sexual misconduct scandal within the Catholic Church at the time.
"Especially in circumstances in the church today, I am sure that some may feel this has a connection, but it rather has to do with my long term depression," Correnti wrote.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Little Rock said in the days after Correnti's death, to his knowledge, there had never been a complaint of sexual misconduct linked to Correnti. But, Bishop Anthony Taylor included Correnti on a list of 12 priests against whom credible allegations had been received. The listing, published in September 2018, said Correnti had five known victims.
"Despite our best efforts to ensure that this information is accurate and complete, we know that this list may include errors or be incomplete," the bishop wrote. "It was compiled through an initial preliminary internal review of personnel files of clergy whom we already knew or whom we suspected had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse."
Taylor noted that an allegation being determined or considered as credible isn't the equivalent of a finding of guilt by a jury or judge in a legal proceeding nor does it mean the allegation is able to be proved.
In June, the diocese settled sex abuse claims made by five men against a different priest for $790,000. The men claimed that they were abused in the 1970s while they were teens at Holy Souls school in Little Rock.
Milwaukee Franciscan leader paid off Mississippi men
in friar's sex abuse
Michael Rezendes, Associated Press 
La Jarvis D. Love is photographed in his home in Senatobia, Miss., Sunday, June 9, 2019.
Love says he was sexually abused by a Franciscan friar at a Catholic grade school in Greenwood.
(Photo: Wong Maye-E / Associated Press)
The IHOP in Southhaven, Mississippi, was an unlikely place to settle a sex abuse claim against a Catholic priest. But in January, the leader of the Franciscan community in suburban Milwaukee slid into a booth across from a 35-year-old victim and offered to pay $15,000 in exchange for silence about years of alleged abuse by another friar.
Father James G. Gannon, provincial minister for the Franciscan friars based in Franklin, arrived at the crowded pancake house with copies of a legal settlement for La Jarvis D. Love, who had arrived with his wife and three young children.
As La Jarvis skimmed the four-page agreement, his thoughts flickered back more than two decades to the physical and sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of an Appleton native who taught at a Catholic grade school in Greenwood, Mississippi. He told Gannon he wasn't sure $15,000 was enough.
"He said if I wanted more, I would have to get a lawyer and have my lawyer call his lawyer," La Jarvis told the Associated Press. "Well, we don't have lawyers. We felt like we had to take what we could."
La Jarvis considered his mounting bills and his young family, and signed the agreement, dating it Jan. 11, 2019.
Then Gannon announced it was time to eat. "He was all smiles then," La Jarvis said.
At the time, La Jarvis didn't understand that the agreement he signed is stunning in several respects. It includes a confidentiality requirement, even though American Catholic leaders have barred them in sex abuse settlements.
In addition, the amount of money Gannon and the Franciscans offered was considerably less than what many other sex abuse victims have received through legal settlements with the Catholic Church.
La Jarvis and two of his cousins, who have also reported that they were abused at Greenwood's St. Francis of Assisi School, differ from most victims with sex abuse claims against the church because they are black, desperately poor and, until recently, never had a lawyer to argue their case.
The abuse they say they endured at the hands of two Franciscans, Brother Paul West and Brother Donald Lucas, included beatings, rape and other sexual violations beginning when they were 9 and 10 years old.
The site of St. Francis of Assisi church and school in Greenwood, Miss. Three men say they were sexually abused by Franciscan friars when they were students at the school. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/Associated Press)
The Franciscans tried to settle with one of La Jarvis' cousins, Joshua K. Love, by offering to pay him up to $10,000 to cover the cost of a used car, maintenance and insurance. Joshua, who has limited reading and writing skills, rejected the offer but later signed a confidential agreement for $15,000 — something he now regrets.
"They felt they could treat us that way because we're poor and we're black," Joshua said of the settlements he and La Jarvis received.
Catholic officials have been promising to end the cover-up of clergy abuse for nearly two decades. In 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, pledging to respond to abuse allegations in an "open and transparent" manner. And earlier this year, Pope Francis issued a new church law requiring Catholic officials worldwide to report sexual abuse — and the cover-up of abuse — to their superiors.
Gannon, during interviews with the AP, said he believes that both La Jarvis and Joshua were abused and acknowledged that the settlements are less than generous. "We've hurt them tremendously and no amount of money would ever account for what happened to them," he said.
Asked if the Loves' race or poverty had anything to do with the size of the settlements they were offered, Gannon said: "Absolutely not."
Gannon also said the Franciscans have no intention of enforcing the confidentiality clauses. As for why the nondisclosure agreements were included, in violation of the American bishops' 2002 charter, he said, "The lawyers put it in there. I can't give you a good answer on that."
West declined to answer questions for this story, and Lucas died in 1999. The Jackson diocese, for its part, has found the allegations against West and Lucas "credible" and has notified the local district attorney.
A perfect opportunity for a predator
The Franciscan order was established in the early 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi to evangelize and work among the poor. Franciscan Friars based in Wisconsin have been traveling to Mississippi in their trademark brown robes and sandals to fulfill that mission since the early 1950s.
Greenwood, a small city of 15,000, is haunted today by racism, unemployment, despair, and drugs. La Jarvis, Joshua and Joshua's brother Raphael grew up in a neighborhood known as Baptist Town, a collection of humble, single-story houses. Often, more than 10 people in their extended family were crowded into their three-bedroom home.
Times were especially hard when La Jarvis and Joshua were fourth and fifth graders. At the time, Joshua's mother was addicted to drugs, and his father had drifted away from home. The family's hardships presented a perfect opportunity for a sexual predator.
When Brother Paul West or Brother Donald Lucas offered to pay La Jarvis or Joshua pocket money to work weekends at the Franciscans' Greenwood compound —doing yard work or cleaning up the church and school — it seemed like an act of generosity.
The boys would alternate weekends, so they were never working together. Often, West ended the day with a meal at McDonald's or Pizza Hut. And he sometimes drove one of the boys home with a stack of pizzas for the entire family. Raphael, five years younger than his brother, Joshua, would cry because he couldn't work, too.
West, then his fourth-grade teacher and later the school principal, encouraged Joshua by telling him he was a good student with a bright future. But this classic grooming soon led to sexual assaults, Joshua said.
As a matter of routine, Joshua said, West would take him to the empty school cafeteria, where he would order him to drop his pants and bend over a railing while he "whupped" him. On some occasions, Joshua said, West asked whether he preferred to be beaten or molested. "He gave me the option to whup me or play with my penis," he said.
La Jarvis recalls similar experiences. Once, he said, West took him into the men's room at the school, took out his penis and told La Jarvis to hold it while he urinated.
The cousins say the abuse by West continued during summer excursions to Wisconsin, where the Greenwood Franciscans were based, and to Centerport, New York, the site of a summer camp established by the Franciscans in the late 1800s.
During one of those trips, Joshua said, West was teaching him to float on his back in a motel swimming pool when he suddenly pushed his head underwater. After he came up gasping, Joshua said, West threatened to drown him if he ever told anyone he was being sexually assaulted.
There is more on this story at the Journal Sentinel.
Cardinal Pell to appeal sex abuse conviction to
Australia’s supreme court
CANBERRA, Australia, (LifeSiteNews) ― Australian Cardinal George Pell has one last chance of acquittal from a conviction of five counts of child sexual abuse.
The prelate will appeal his convictions for historic child sexual abuse to the Australian High Court in Canberra, CNA reported today. Although not guaranteed, it is believed that the High Court will agree to hear the appeal.
This follows the decision of the state of Victoria’s Court of Appeal last week to uphold Pell’s convictions. The decision was split 2:1 against the cardinal; Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Ferguson and Justice Chris Maxwell, the president of the Victoria Court of Appeal, declared that Pell was guilty of the five charges.
Justice Mark Weinberg, dissenting, believed that Pell should have been acquitted.
The conviction of Pell on no other evidence than two uncorroborated stories by a single complaint has some Catholics believing that an anti-Catholic, anti-Pell animus is involved, both in the police force and in the courts.
Gosh, I wonder why? But I suspect he is right and one victim's testimony is pretty weak when most paedophile priests had several victims, if not dozens. Mind you, another of Pell's accusers has since died.
An Australian source told LifeSiteNews that the composition of the High Court “is not heartening,” saying that at least one of the justices is an LGBT activist and that all but two were appointed by left-wing governments.
The Justices of the Australian High Court are Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, Virginia Bell AC, Stephen Gageler AC, Patrick Keane AC, Geoffrey Nettle AC, Michelle Gordon AC, and James Edelman.
AC indicates that the bearer is a Companion of the Order of Australia. Pell is also a Companion of this Order.
Virginia Bell AC, who has a female partner, is the first lesbian to serve on the High Court and was a marcher at Australia’s watershed 1978 Mardi Gras LGBT rights parade in Sydney. She assisted with the legal defense of those arrested during the march and continued to advocate for LGBT causes.
The High Court is the last court of appeal in Australia.
On December 11, 2018, Cardinal George Pell was found guilty of two counts of child sex assault by a jury after only four days of deliberation. A second planned trial was dropped in February 2019, due to a lack of evidence and because one of Pell’s principal accusers had died. In March 2019, Justice Peter Kidd sentenced Pell to six years in prison, with no chance of parole for three years, eight months.
Pell has always maintained that he is innocent of all accusations of child sexual abuse.
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