In wake of the news that a priest has been temporarily removed from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for possible financial irregularities, news about 2 more ministers has popped up.
From the Las Vegas Sun: A Las Vegas pastor arrested in December for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl in his congregation may have fled to California after more victims came forward, Henderson Police said.
Authorities last week issued a warrant for Otis Holland, 54, on 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim younger than 16, one count of child abuse and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said.
Holland has not turned himself into police, who believe he may have gone to California to evade arrest, officials said.
Police first arrested Holland, who was pastor of United Faith Church in Las Vegas, last December for three counts of sexual assault of a victim younger than 16.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jun/23/police-searching-pastor-accused/
And from the LVRJ: A Las Vegas Episcopal priest is at the center of a lawsuit alleging a Missouri monastery covered up sexual abuse allegations dating back to the 1970s.
The lawsuit, filed in Missouri, alleges the Roman Catholic monastery, Conception Abbey, kept quiet a 1987 sexual assault of a choir boy by Bede Parry, then a Catholic priest who directed the choir.
Parry, 68, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, is now a priest and music director at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4201 W. Washington Ave., the lawsuit says.
The male plaintiff, identified only as John Doe 181, was attending a summer boys choir camp when the 1987 sexual assault allegedly occurred. http://www.lvrj.com/news/lawsuit-against-missouri-monastery-involves-las-vegas-episcopal-priest-124432963.html
I have a problem with this lawsuit as this lawsuit is filed 24 years after the fact. This is not a case where the plaintiff or his family didn't know what was going on in the past 24 years- they did. So, why wait for 24 years to file a lawsuit? A quick payday?
Here is the web site for the Abbey: http://www.conceptionabbey.org/
Meanwhile the priest is not named in the lawsuit (gee I wonder why?) and really has no way to defend his name because he is not named in the lawsuit.
If he did this, name him as a defendant in the lawsuit and if he is innocent, he should sue for defamation.
But either way, the case should be thrown out of court because the abuse happened 24 years ago and the statute of limitations should have run out by now.
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