O.C. Man Wrongly Held in Mexico May Soon Be Free

ENSENADA —  An Orange County man imprisoned for 6 1/2 years after being wrongly accused of molesting children at a Mexican orphanage will be released from an Ensenada prison next week, his attorneys predicted Friday.

At the same time, a state judge in Mexico who conducted an independent investigation of the orphanage said she found evidence of widespread sexual abuse, including allegations that American visitors took children to empty rooms to molest them.

Although absolved of the abuse charges, David Cathcart of Laguna Niguel has remained jailed on drug possession allegations--charges he and his attorney say are bogus.

Cathcart, 59, was convicted of molesting four boys at a Mexican orphanage that was supported by his church. He was cleared by state judge Marta Flores Trejo last week when the four victims recanted their testimony.

However, as his release from prison was imminent, two prison guards accused Cathcart of having heroin in his cell in 1998, and federal drug charges were filed against him.

On Friday, Cathcart’s attorney, William Bollard, said a federal judge hearing the charge has signaled that he will absolve Cathcart of the drug charges next week and order him released.

“The news has been very encouraging. There were some legal procedures we had to attend to in the last two weeks. But I’m confident that he will walk out a free man next week,” Bollard said.

Bollard was in Ensenada on Friday to talk with Cathcart and Judge Flores.

“The last week has been filled with high anxiety. I’m looking forward to walking out of here soon,” said Cathcart, interviewed as he stood behind a metal screen at the courthouse at the south end of town.

Cathcart said that “not much has changed since the judge found me innocent. I’m still locked up for something I didn’t do.”

Judge Flores on Friday said she has faced criticism from the local press and local authorities for clearing Cathcart.

Flores said she also was criticized for announcing the findings of her independent investigation of the Puerta de Fe orphanage beginning in December 1998. The judge, who has two young children herself, said she was appalled by the evidence of rampant sexual and physical abuse.

“There are adults from the U.S. who live there at the orphanage who have nothing to do with the orphanage. Nobody, including the director, could tell me why they were there,” the judge said.

Flores said the four victims who recanted their allegations against Cathcart told her that American men would take children inside empty rooms at the orphanage and have sex with them.

“The boys also told me that the older children at the orphanage would have sex with the young ones. They said that [director] Gabriel Diego Garcia was aware of this but made no attempt to stop it,” Flores said.

In an interview last week, Garcia strongly denied that children at the orphanage were sexually abused. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

Flores said the children who had accused Cathcart of molestation told her Garcia coerced them into making the false allegations--threatening to kick them out into the street.

Garcia denies the allegation and said he is still convinced that Cathcart committed the molestations.

Cathcart, a travel agent, first went to the orphanage to inspect its books after officials at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel began to suspect that some of the $140,000 that parishioners donated to the facility was being misspent.

When Cathcart arrived at the orphanage and asked to see the books, Garcia banished him from the property. The next day, after Garcia asked him to return, Cathcart was arrested for child molestation and later sentenced to 12 years in prison.

As she did last week, Flores on Friday called for state child welfare authorities in Baja California to investigate the orphanage.

“Something happened to these children while they were living there. They were supposed to be in a safe place,” Flores said. “Whether my findings are correct or not is not the issue. The issue is that we must do everything possible to ensure these children are safe.”

Three of the boys who recanted the charges against Cathcart are now adults and do not live at the orphanage. The fourth, who is 17, is still at the facility.

Flores said it was the 17-year-old boy’s recantation and sworn testimony against Garcia that convinced her the director of the orphanage forced the boys to lie about the molestation.

“He is still living under Garcia’s control. He told me he was beaten by Garcia in the past. He told me this knowing that he had to return to the orphanage,” Flores aid. “I found his testimony to be very credible and decisive in my decision to absolve Cathcart.”