Lawsuit Accuses Former Phoenix Bishop of Abusing Boy more than 35 Years Ago

Bishop Emeritus Thomas O'Brien's house is shown in Phoenix on Aug. 3, 2017. He faces personal accusations of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Jerod MacDonald-Evoy and Michael Kiefer, The Republic | azcentral.com 

The former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, who stepped aside in 2003 after acknowledging he had protected suspected pedophile priests, faces personal  accusations of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. 

The lawsuit names Bishop Emeritus Thomas O'Brien, the Diocese of Phoenix and three Catholic churches, alleging the plaintiff was the victim of childhood sexual abuse, sexual battery, negligence and fraud.

Filed in September 2016, it accuses O'Brien, now 81, of sexually abusing the plaintiff from 1977 through 1982, when the plaintiff was a boy.

Attempts to reach O'Brien for comment were unsuccessful. No one answered the door at his residence in Phoenix, and phone calls were not returned.

The diocese released a statement from spokesman Robert DeFrancesco.

"Bishop O’Brien was never assigned to any of the parishes or schools identified in the lawsuit," it said. "Bishop O’Brien categorically denies the allegations."

The diocese did not comment further because of the pending litigation, but said it contacted the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in September 2016 when notified of the allegations. 

A spokeswoman for the County Attorney's Office confirmed that it was contacted by the diocese.

Suit arose from repressed memories

The allegations arise from what court documents describe as repressed memories that resurfaced two years ago while an Arizona man was attending his son's baptism.

The abuse is alleged to have begun in 1977 when the plaintiff, identified in court documents as "Joseph W.,"  was in the second grade. 

"The abuse often took place before or during church services attended by Joseph W. and his family," the lawsuit states, "and under the guise of Bishop O'Brien showing Joseph W. how to assist with some aspect of the ceremony." 

In 2002, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office initiated a grand jury investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests at the Phoenix Diocese. O'Brien was the bishop in charge of the diocese at the time. 

By 2003, O'Brien admitted to sheltering at least 50 priests accused of sexual abuse, often shuffling them around to different parishes across the state. 

And yet he was never charged. Statute of limitations probably.

At the time, an agreement reached between the diocese and then-County Attorney Rick Romley said "no credible evidence has been received that would establish Thomas J. O'Brien personally engaged in criminal sexual misconduct."

"However, the investigation developed evidence that Thomas J. O'Brien failed to protect the victims of criminal sexual misconduct of others associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix," the agreement said.

New allegations surface

The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court by attorney Carlo Mercaldo, working with California-based attorney Tim Hale, who has represented victims of child sexual abuse in California.

The plaintiff attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and Parish and St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School and Parish, both in the Phoenix area, in second through fifth grades, the lawsuit says.

In one of the earliest incidents of abuse, Joseph W. alleges, O'Brien kissed him on the lips. At the time, O'Brien was vicar general in the diocese. He became bishop in 1981.

The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was forced to perform oral sex on O'Brien and that O'Brien did the same to the boy while he was swinging a container of incense.

O'Brien is alleged to have repeated "I am not a sinner" after one of the encounters, and told Joseph W. to do penance, the lawsuit says. Joseph W. recalled grabbing a rosary and doing penance in the pews of a largely empty church. 

According to the lawsuit, Joseph W. repressed those memories for nearly 38 years. 

The resurfacing of the memories "rendered plaintiff of an unsound mind resulting in both the inability to manage his daily affairs, and to understand his legal rights and liabilities," the lawsuit said. 

Hale has a history of litigating similar kinds of cases involving clergy abuse as well as alleged abuses by the Boy Scouts of America. 

"We're just getting started," Hale said.

The case has been assigned to Superior Court Judge David Udall. Hale and Mercaldo are awaiting a ruling on diocese attorneys' motions to dismiss six of the 14 claims in the lawsuit.

The diocese has not asked to dismiss the allegations focused on O'Brien's personal conduct.

“Our position is that this did not happen, that it’s a false

allegation and the evidence will bear that out.”

John Kelly, defense attorney

“At the motion to dismiss stage, you can only move to dismiss claims that haven’t been well enough articulated,” said defense attorney John Kelly. “We don’t get to the merits of the allegations until later.”

“Our position is that this did not happen, that it’s a false allegation and the evidence will bear that out,” Kelly said.

Told Wednesday of the allegations, Romley said, "It has been nearly 15 years since we conducted the investigation and at this point in time I do not remember that there were any allegations that Bishop O'Brien had sexually assaulted any children."

Not your normal lawsuit

In addition to the complaints against O'Brien, the lawsuit attempts to have the diocese declared a "public nuisance" because of the new allegations and past instances of known cover-ups of sexual abuse. 

Along with O'Brien, the lawsuit named 60 other priests, deacons and religious leaders who had been credibly accused, investigated or found guilty of sexual abuse and who worked for or visited church properties within the Phoenix diocese.

Hale alleges the church did not identify all these suspected abusers in "community notification statements" that were mandated by the agreement with the county attorney.

In their motions to dismiss multiple allegations in the lawsuit, attorneys for the church contend that some of the accusations are too broad and sweeping. Declaring the diocese a public nuisance would be akin to "creating a new law," Kelly said in the church's response.

"We want to keep it broad to force it to be changed," Hale explained in an interview. "If not changed, at least it will help identify the perpetrators." 

A troubled past

O'Brien has largely been out of the public eye for several years, but he is no stranger to controversy. 

Allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have been reported across the world over the past two decades.

O'Brien's 2003 statement on the subject, released with the agreement with the county attorney, said, "I acknowledge that I allowed Roman Catholic priests under my supervision to work with minors after becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct."

The agreement stated that if any allegations of criminal sexual misconduct against O'Brien were to surface, the agreement would not give him immunity.

"If information is forthcoming of personal, direct involvement of Thomas J. O'Brien in any act of criminal sexual misconduct, then charges shall not be precluded," the agreement stated. 

That agreement brought O'Brien's resignation and major changes within the church, including a victim assistance panel, victim assistance fund and training on sexual misconduct issues for all diocesan staff and volunteers. 

Two weeks after the agreement was signed, O'Brien again made headlines. 

On June 14, 2003, Jim Reed was crossing the street near 19th and Glendale Avenues in Phoenix when he was struck by a vehicle that left the scene. Reed would later die of his injuries. 

A witness followed the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run, took down the license plate and reported it to police. The car belonged to O'Brien. The collision happened three miles from his home. 

O'Brien did not contact police, even after a fellow priest informed him that detectives were looking for him and his vehicle. Two days after the hit-and-run, O'Brien made phone calls about replacing his damaged windshield before police confronted him. 

O'Brien was found guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and was sentenced to four years' probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He had to surrender his driver's license for five years. 

Investigation into Ted Heath's Alleged Child Sex Abuse Began in Canada

Investigation into satanic child sex abuse involving dead U.K. prime minister began in Edmonton with hypnosis

Joseph Brean, National Post

Edward Heath, late Prime Minister of Britain, Keystone/Getty Images

The investigation into Edward Heath's alleged sex abuse of children began in Edmonton, Canada.

A controversial police investigation into suspected sex abuse of children by the late British prime minister Edward Heath, with related claims of Satanic rituals and murders, originated in Edmonton in 1989, when a Canadian psychologist hypnotized a woman and helped her “recover” suppressed memories, according to a confidential police consultant report obtained by the National Post.

Cheryl Malmo, an Edmonton psychologist who retired in 2016, hypnotized a woman to treat her for depression, which she suspected was related to abuse from her childhood in Wiltshire, England, according to the report. What followed was a litany of horrific tales, seeping slowly from the woman’s memory, growing in lurid detail over time, “guided and influenced” by Malmo’s hypnotherapy, according to the consultant criminologist.

Dr. Cheryl Malmo worked as a psychologist who specialized in helping people heal from traumatic experiences.  Edmonton Journal

The sister's stories

They include stories of helping her mother kidnap a boy, who was raped by her father on a church altar, then suspended from a rope, as the woman’s mother cut his penis with a knife and drained his blood into a gleaming metal bucket. After apparently suppressing these memories all her adult life, the woman, then in her late 40s, told stories of rape, candlelit black magic rituals, cannibalism, child murder and bestiality — stories that were initially about her parents, but in time grew to include one of the most powerful men in the world.

“It is quite possible that childhood sexual abuse did indeed take place,” the expert report concludes. “However, many of the so-called retrieved memories seem to me most likely to fit False Memory Recall of the type associated with the Satanic Ritual Abuse scandal of the 1980s. Some of the extreme ritual abuse and ritual murder scenes, in particular, strike me as crossing the boundary into flights of fancy.”

The report recommends “no charges are brought in cases where evidence relies solely or mainly on the recovery of alleged memories under psychotherapy, especially where hypnosis is employed.” It is also skeptical of evidence from the woman’s sisters, three of whom eventually made similar claims of serial rape by their parents and others, including Heath, which the report says are clearly influenced by each other. Another of those sisters had also moved to Canada.

I now believe that both of my parents were

practising members of the Occult

“I think there’s definite cross-contamination,” said the report’s author, Rachel Hoskins, in an interview. Whether this was honest confabulation, or dishonest fabrication, the memories are not backed up by corresponding official records, such as police investigations or missing person reports, Hoskins said.

Her report has thrown a wrench into a sprawling police investigation that so far, 28 years after it started, has not resulted in any criminal charges.

The Edmonton woman’s allegations were first brought to police back when they were recovered in 1989, but they were focused on the sisters’ parents, not Heath, and no charges resulted. One sister returned to police a few months later, to say more memories had arisen. “I now believe that both of my parents were practising members of the Occult,” she reported.

Heath on his yacht Peter Cade/Central Press/Getty Images

The case was resurrected only in the last year or so, with the added detail of Heath’s alleged participation in some of the abuse, but not the Satanic rituals. One sister told police she had seen his face on the news and “trusted my gut.” This crucial recollection came at a time when the police response to historical sexual abuse claims about public figures was in dramatic flux, in Britain especially.

Jimmy Savile, for example, a beloved British television performer, had been posthumously revealed as a pedophilic monster with more than 500 victims. The resulting panic led to a police investigation that took down big names — Gary Glitter, Dave Lee Travis, Max Clifford, Rolf Harris. But several widely publicized arrests of high-profile men were not followed by prosecution, such as pop star Cliff Richard. In one case, a former MP died without learning that police cleared his name months earlier. Other prominent politicians, including a former defence chief, may deserve compensation for false accusations about pedophile rings, according to the head of the Metropolitan Police.

Much of the VIP pedophile/murder ring investigation was based on the testimony of one man. No other witnesses were found to corroborate his extraordinary claims of child rape and murder. Met Police showed very poor judgement in allowing news of their investigation into the press, but, I assume, they were hoping others would come forward to corroborate the claims. No-one did, apparently.

That's not to say that VIP pedophile/murder rings don't or didn't exist. You have only to read my most-read blog post The Great Belgium Pedophile/Torture/Murder Scandal or the more recent post  Belgian Aristocratic Paedophile Ring - Boys & Girls Raped, Tortured & Murdered to know it exists, or existed in Belgium for decades, at least. Also, you can read the disturbing story of Demi and Nirvana with accusations of pedophile/murder/Satanic rings involving the once Secretary General of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, Joris Demmink.

These investigations changed the national tone in Britain, and prompted fears that the woefully belated legal response to child sex abuse was morphing into a witch hunt. Even Robert Buckland, Britain’s Solicitor-General, has privately raised concerns with Wiltshire’s police commissioner about an expensive “fishing expedition,” according to the Sunday Times.

In this context, Heath is a big fish, but he died in 2005, so any criminal charges would be against others. He served as Conservative prime minister in the early 1970s, and his term is remembered largely for economic turmoil, labour unrest, and strife in Northern Ireland. He is mentioned scornfully in the Beatles’ song Taxman, in the backing vocals “Haha, Mr. Wilson, Haha Mr. Heath.” (Harold Wilson, Heath’s Labour Party rival, was prime minister both before and after him.)

Hoskins, the author of the report, is a registered expert criminologist for the U.K. National Crime Agency, and a specialist in faith-based violence such as witchcraft, paganism and Satanism. Hired by police to explain this arcane subculture, she was given access to diaries, police statements, and interview transcripts, mainly about the sisters.

Edward Heath in 1971  AFP/Central Press

Their father worked at Wilton Barracks, an army facility that was closed in 2010. It was used by the United States Army in World War II, and became a strategic command centre for British forces afterwards. Many of the sisters’ allegations involve being forced into sexual abuse in the barracks by military men, some of whom are likely still living.

Wilton Barracks is in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge, and the image of neo-Pagan ritual plays largely in the controversy. Heath had a home nearby in Salisbury, where police held a press conference to solicit complainants.

This is not a ‘fishing trip or ‘witch hunt’

Malmo, a psychologist focused on childhood trauma and sexual violence, has been a court-recognized expert witness in Canada on cases about, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder. She was also profiled in the documentary When The Devil Knocks, about a woman whose dissociative identity disorder seemed to stem from childhood abuse, and left her with more than 30 distinct personalities, each unknown to the other. Malmo treated each as a distinct patient.

AFP/Central Press

Reached by email, Malmo said she could not discuss patient matters, nor confirm the identity of a patient. About Hoskins’ report, she wrote: “these false memory claims she seems intent on were disposed of in North America years ago by solid research and sound critique by many experts. It appears that just as the issue of child sexual abuse did not arise in Europe (except perhaps in the Netherlands) until decades after it was recognized in North America, the lack of substantiation of so-called false memories and the critiques of this position are slow to reach some professionals (this particular criminologist).”

Malmo said her own records are destroyed after 10 years.

“Whilst it is quite likely that a prolific pedophile would serially abuse all his daughters, the sequence by which the sisters retrieved their memories cannot be considered investigatively pure,” Hoskins concludes in her 150-page report.

How often, I wonder, do you find 'investigatively pure' evidence? Repressed memories, as the girls had because of the seriousness of their abuse, would have been difficult to retrieve. Repressed memories return, at least in part, suddenly, triggered by an event, a scene, a smell, etc., but parts of those memories may take years to come forth. The more one sister would talk about it, the more likely the other sisters would retrieve bits and pieces of the horror they suffered and buried for so long. To expect the sisters to recover repressed memories independently of each other is completely unrealistic.

Wiltshire Police have taken unusual steps to rebut Hoskins’ report, calling its leak “a significant breach of confidentiality and trust,” and threatening unspecified “pro-active action” in response.

“pro-active action” that sounds really serious!

Chief Constable Mike Veale said he was “duty bound” to investigate Heath, and is “very concerned and profoundly disappointed” about speculation that he is leading a witch hunt, which he fears could undermine confidence in police, or threaten any future prosecutions.

“This is not a ‘fishing trip or ‘witch hunt,'” he said. There are many allegations about a “significant number” of people, and the specific allegations about Satanism do not relate to Heath himself, he said. Rather, according to Hoskins’ report, two of the sisters report memories of Heath participating in their rapes, recalling him shirtless, with a “grotesque” face and “an element of cruelty.”

“If the force had received allegations of non-recent child abuse against a former prime minister and done nothing, what would the reaction have been?” Veale said.

Michael Jackson Ran the ‘Most Sophisticated Child Sexual Abuse’ Operation in History: Suit

Michael Jackson was allegedly "infatuated" with the infant son of the doctor who ended up serving time for his death. (JOEL RYAN/AP)

The caption just above references Dr. Conrad Murray's 'This is it'. In it he recounts how he was concerned about MJs infatuation with the baby. The baby's mother would never let MJ be alone with the child.

NANCY DILLON
STEPHEN REX BROWN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Michael Jackson operated the most sophisticated child sex abuse operation "the world has known," an alleged victim of the King of Pop claims in new documents.

The shocking claims are included in an amended complaint filed by Wade Robson, a choreographer who was taken under Jackson's wing as a child.

See also: Michael Jackson Hit With New Child Sex Abuse Claim

Michael Jackson Hit with New Child Sex Abuse Claims More Than Five Years After His Death

Child Pornography, Violent Pornography Found on Neverland Ranch

Did Michael Jackson Pay Out $200 Million to His Victims of Child Sex Abuse?

In the new filings, Robson, 33, alleges that Jackson and his inner circle sought out children in systematic fashion through two companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures. The companies — ostensibly dedicated to creating and disseminating Jackson's entertainment — served "dual purposes," Robson's lawyer told the Daily News.

"MJJ Productions operated the most sophisticated child sexual abuse procurement and facilitation operation the world has known," Robson's lawyer Vince Finaldi said Monday.

"Although MJJ Productions on its face was a multimedia company dedicated to creating and distributing Michael Jackson's music and entertainment, it actually served a dual purpose, and that was locating, producing and enabling his sexual abuse of kids," he said.

"This wasn't just on his own. This was through his company, through (assistant) Norma (Staikos) primarily," he said. "She would call parents and say, 'Hey he wants to meet you, come down to the ranch.'"

Finaldi said the company would set up the limo, have someone drive the family to the ranch, sometimes pay for plane tickets, put them up in lodging, pay for food and have staff members give gifts.

"Make no mistake, Neverland Ranch was nothing but a well-orchestrated trap," Finaldi told The News. "It was custom-built to attract kids so he could groom them and decide which to sexually abuse."

Robson's amended complaint, obtained by The News, adds new negligence claims to his suit against the two companies.

He claims he was brought into Jackson's orbit when he was only 5 years old, after winning a dance competition in Australia organized by MJJ Ventures.


Wade Robson initially testified he was not the victim of sexual abuse, but then recanted, saying he’d realized through therapy he actually was a victim of Jackson’s. (© REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER / REUTERS/REUTERS)

Two years later, Staikos contacted the family about meeting with The Gloved One and staying at Neverland Ranch during a trip to Los Angeles, according to papers.

Staikos served as Jacko's "madam" or "procurer," the filing states.

During that visit, Jackson allegedly sexually abused Robson. The abuse continued for eight years until Robson hit puberty and Jackson lost interest, according to the new complaint.

That is typical pedophile behaviour. 


Wade Robson, seen here at 10, first met Jackson when he was 5 years old. (KIWI4U VIA YOUTUBE)

Robson, who went on to work as a choreographer for the likes of Britney Spears and 'NSync, denied he was sexually abused during the pop icon's 2005 molestation trial in Santa Barbara County.

But he subsequently recanted, saying he'd realized Jackson abused him following years of therapy. In 2013 Robson's claims against Jackson's estate were thrown out after a judge ruled he'd waited too long to sue. He is now pursuing separate charges against Jackson's companies.

A lawyer for MJJ Productions declined to comment when reached by The News on Tuesday.


Wade Robson has said the realization he was abused derailed his successful career as a choreographer. (NBC NEWSWIRE/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY IMAGES)

A source in Jackson's camp called the new complaint "too silly" to warrant a response.

Finaldi said the new complaint could lead to a delay of the March trial now scheduled for the lawsuit in Santa Monica, Calif.

He said there's still plenty of time left on the five-year trial clock for any extra discovery that might be needed.

"It doesn't benefit anyone to have a complaint that isn't complete with all the necessary causes of action," he said. "This was just very standard practice. Our firm specializes in child sexual abuse litigation."

What's Life Like for a Survivor of Child Rape and Pornography?

Debbie. 

Kindle Edition

by Sierra D Waters (Author)

The goal of writing this true account of my life is to raise awareness and to let politicians and the public gain insight into the life of a childhood sexual assault and childhood pornography survivor. 

If politicians are going to make decisions for me (and countless other survivors) regarding time limits and how they prosecute pedophiles and child pornographers, shouldn't they see how sexual abuse (rape) and child pornography (repeated rapes) have affected me? 

Limitation statutes must be completely abolished when child sex abuse is concerned. So often the memories remain buried for decades, and even when they reappear, the survivor may not be able to deal with them for another decade or more. 

If the public is going to continue to say things about pedophiles that are captured like, "He will pay in prison" shouldn't they be taught that what they are saying is far from true in many instances?

Take a look at how many violent sexual predators are within a 10-mile area of your home, read this book, talk to other survivors, and then begin to form your opinions. Did they "pay in prison” or are they back on the streets sitting on an offender registry? Do you feel safe? 

This memoir is a call for change. Please join me.  Kindle - $4.99

Woman Realizes Man Next Door Raped Her 40 Years Ago

GAINESVILLE — A central Florida woman who says she repressed memories that she was sexually assaulted as a child ironically moved next to her alleged attacker, ultimately leading to an arrest roughly 40 years later.

The woman says her mother and aunt liked to party and often left her in the care of her aunt's boyfriend Donald Truluck, sometimes for days on end. The Associated Press is not identifying the woman because she is an alleged victim of sexual abuse.

Thanks a lot, Mom! That's the kind of selfish mothering no child needs.

She says that from the age of 6 to 12-years-old Truluck plied her with gifts and drugs and repeatedly raped her. The two eventually lost contact and she dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and got married a year later. But the woman and her husband ended up moving into a mobile home on Truluck's property more than a decade ago. She had an uneasy feeling and eventually the memories returned. The 46-year-old alleged victim filed a report with local authorities in June.

She also confronted Truluck. According to an arrest report from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, Truluck admitted it during a phone call with the alleged victim that authorities were recording, in which he said he knows he is "going to hell" for what he did.

Truluck, 66, has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $250,000. The statute of limitations does not apply in this case.

"It is unusual to prosecute someone for such an old allegation — not because the allegation is not serious, but because the passage of times erodes the accused's ability to get a fair trial: witnesses become unavailable, evidence disappears, memories fade or become altered," attorney Evelyn Sapp told the Gainesville Sun in an email statement. "In the case of Donald Truluck, he faces charges for allegations of events that happened about 40 years ago. Mr. Truluck disputes the allegations and looks forward to mounting his defense."

The alleged victim said she decided to come forward to encourage other child sex abuse victims to do the same.

"I should have been a whistleblower as a child and I didn't know how. When I was faced with threats, I didn't know what to do. I was a kid. He would say, 'If you tell we're in big trouble.' We're in trouble, not 'I'm in trouble.'"

When the alleged victim moved onto Truluck's property with her husband several years ago, she said she saw him every day, often taking care of him because he was sick.

"I remembered him but as far as the traumatic events, I buried it all. Once we got back in contact and we lived there, I didn't want to be alone with him. I knew that," she said. "I remembered nothing and then probably about six years ago, I started having flashbacks, images. I had to go seek therapy and during that is when everything came to light. After years of working on it, it all came up."

After confronting Truluck, the alleged victim says the family moved out almost immediately, and still owed money on the mobile home and now had to pay rent at a new place.

"I just want the community to know that if there is somebody who is afraid to come forward, don't be afraid. The police are there to help us and we just have to trust them to do their job, and that's what they did for me," she said.