NEWS EVENT: Victims to Leaflet Parish Where Convicted Predator Worked

Cleric Lived in Parish For Two Years Before Secretly Removed, Defrocked

Mahony Allowed Priest to Work with Kids, Even Though He Knew About Allegations in England

Victims Believe Parish Has Never Been Told About Conviction

SNAP to Parishioners: Talk to Your Children, Report Abuse to Law Enforcement

Mahony Must Be Held Accountable For Keeping Cleric's Crimes Secret, They Say

What: Clergy sex abuse victims will hand out fliers before and after mass at a parish church/school where a recently-convicted predator priest worked and lived. The leaflets:

--Urge churchgoers to talk to their children about the cleric and sexual abuse,
--Blast church officials for letting the priest work here despite allegations against him in England,
--Demand that LA’s Cardinal personally visit each parish where the pedophile worked and beg victims and witnesses to step forward, and
--Prod anyone who saw, suspected or suffered crimes to come forward, get help and call police.

Where: Outside of St. Catherine Laboure parish, 3846 Redondo Beach Blvd (at Ainsworth), Torrance CA

When: TODAY, Sunday, November 7, 10 am to 11:30 am

Who: Four to five sex abuse victims (and supporters) who are members of a self-help group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

Why: Last month in Birmingham, England, former Los Angeles priest Richard James Robinson was convicted of 21 counts child sexual abuse. He’s accused of abusing at least six English boys. http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_16408750?source=rss_viewed

The crimes occurred between 1959 and 1983, before Robinson was quietly sent to the Los Angeles Archdiocese because of allegations.http://www.thisiswalsallonline.co.uk/news/Victim-reveals-horror-abused-priest/article-2807404-detail/article.html

Between 1989 and 1993, Robinson worked in at least three parishes with elementary schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. (Holy Angels in Arcadia, St. Catherine Laboure in Torrance, and St. Mel's in Woodland Hills).

In 1993, Robinson was quietly removed from St. Mel's and defrocked. As best SNAP can tell, no one at any of the parishes where he worked was warned of the danger. The Los Angeles Archdiocese did not tell British police of Robinson's whereabouts.

In 2007, a BBC film crew located and confronted Robinson on camera in the Los Angeles trailer park where he was living and brought one of Robinson's victims with them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11602668 British law enforcement used the information to extradite Robinson to the UK, where he faced trial.

SNAP believes there may be dozens of Robinson victims in California. They are urging anyone with information about the cleric to inform law enforcement. Although Robinson will not be sent back to the US to face trial, Los Angeles and British law enforcement said they encourage any and all victims to come forward and report.

SNAP is also blasting Cardinal Roger Mahony for his “reckless” behavior and doing nothing to warn parishioners about Robinson. The cleric is not listed in the Archdiocese's databases of accused priests, and to date no announcement has been made to the parishes about Robinson's arrest and conviction.

Contact:
Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, SNAP Western Regional Director, 949-322-7434 cell
Barb Dorris of St. Louis, MO, SNAP Outreach Director, 314-503-0003 cell
David Clohessy of St. Louis, MO, SNAP National Director, 314-566-9790 cell