Catholic diocese in Southern California settles 4 sex-abuse cases before trial

SANTA ANA, California _ The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange said it will pay nearly $7 million (euro5 million) to settle four sexual abuse lawsuits, including one for which the bishop faces contempt of court proceedings for sending a monsignor out of the country before he could testify.

The cases were the first to be filed since 2004, when the diocese reached a record-breaking $100 million (euro71 million) settlement with about 90 plaintiffs.

The four lawsuits, the first of which was to go to trial Oct. 15, involved allegations against three lay teachers at Mater Dei High School and Santa Margarita High School, as well as a lay musician at a neighborhood parish.

"I'm sorry that any of this happened and that even one person was abused," Bishop Tod D. Brown said in a phone interview late Friday with The Associated Press. "We've taken every possible position that we can to make sure this doesn't happen again and I hope it doesn't."

Sarah Gray, one of the plaintiffs, said she was pleased to have a settlement but still had to work on personal healing.

"I really wanted to go to trial and at the same time, I think, the settlement really accords the same amount of accountability to the diocese," said Gray, who alleged she was sexually molested by her choir teachers in the late 1990s at Mater Dei.

The diocese will pay $6.685 million (euro4.73 million) to the four plaintiffs, making an average payout of $1.7 million (euro1.2 million) per person.

The case against a coach at Mater Dei had put Brown in the unusual position of having to sit for a contempt of court hearing, scheduled for Tuesday.

If the hearing goes forward and Brown is found to be in contempt, he could face sanctions from a verbal reprimand to jail time.

Defense lawyers said they had not reached the settlement to avoid Brown's contempt of court hearing for sending a key witness to Canada for medical treatment. Brown will insist on going forward with the hearing Tuesday to clear his name, said Peter Callahan, the bishop's attorney.

"The bishop wants to go; he wants to clear his name from these accusations," Callahan said. "The story is going to be that we settled to avoid the contempt charge, and that's just a darn untruth."

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gail Andler this week ordered a hearing to determine whether Brown should be held in contempt for sending a high-ranking church official to Canada for medical treatment before he could complete his deposition in the case.

Brown denied Friday that he sent Msgr. John Urell away to keep evidence out of the court's hands. He said he chose Southdown Institute in Ontario because it has an excellent record and Urell needed immediate medical attention.

Plaintiffs' attorneys alleged that Urell had critical information on how the diocese handled complaints of abuse and wanted to send him away to prevent his testimony.

"I don't think I am in contempt of court," Brown said. "I look forward to having the matter finished and being cleared of that innuendo."

Also set for next week was a hearing on whether the judge would compel Urell to complete his deposition. The first case was scheduled for trial Oct. 15.

The agreement calls for the release of all church documents relating to the alleged abuse, said Ryan DiMaria, an attorney for the plaintiffs.