O.C. Priest Faces New Allegation of Abuse

A former altar boy has come forward to accuse Father Michael Pecharich--dismissed Monday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange for what he contended was an isolated sexual abuse incident 19 years ago--of molesting him a quarter of a century ago.

The alleged second victim, Jim Griley, 38, of Morro Bay, said he reported the incidents Tuesday to diocesan officials. He said he felt compelled to go public after reading that San Francisco Solano Church parishioners in Rancho Santa Margarita decried the popular priest’s removal for a single molestation almost two decades ago. He added that he would not pursue a lawsuit.

“Bottom line: He’s a molester,” said Griley, who said he was 10 to 12 years old at the time of the alleged attacks at St. Bridget of Sweden parish in Van Nuys.

Church officials confirmed that they received a new complaint about the priest and that Pecharich was an associate pastor at St. Bridget from 1973 to 1976.

Pecharich could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Retired Bishop of Orange Norman F. McFarland, who stepped down in 1998, reviewed Pecharich’s case in 1996 when the original victim came forward. After consulting with a psychologist and the diocesan “sensitive issues” team, he determined that Pecharich wasn’t a threat to children and allowed him to continue at San Francisco Solano with additional counseling, restrictions around minors and continued monitoring.

When told about the new allegation Wednesday, McFarland said he was “floored.”

“[If true] ... that makes all the difference in the world,” the retired bishop said. “I was dealing with one case.” “You make your judgments by what you have.... If this is true, what can I say? It’s something I didn’t know. If I had known, there’s no question he couldn’t have continued.”

The accusation, if true, gives additional support to a new, controversial “zero-tolerance” policy that requires the diocese to fire any priest known to have molested a minor. Some parishioners at Pecharich’s church were outraged that their pastor had been fired for a single 19-year-old sexual abuse case that involved a teenage boy. But the new complaint bolsters the arguments of victims’ rights activists who say molesters tend to repeat their acts, and that once one molestation comes to light, there probably are others.

The Los Angeles and Orange dioceses were forced to enact the new policy as part of a $5.2-million settlement in another case alleging sexual abuse by a priest.

“In our society, you don’t get one free bank robbery and priests shouldn’t get one free pass,” said David Clohessy, executive director of the St. Louis-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles dismissed as many as a dozen priests in the past few weeks because of the new guidelines, sources said.

Pecharich was the first Orange County priest forced to resign under the zero-tolerance policy, though church officials said they haven’t completed a background check of all diocesan priests.

Pecharich had told church officials and congregants Sunday that he had “only transgressed personal boundaries of [one] adolescent.”

Both clergy and parishioners, here and across the country, have fiercely debated whether priests with a substantiated--but decades-old--molestation charge should be instantly dismissed, despite years of apparent good service.

“If these allegations are true, that’s very tragic and certainly gives more weight to the diocesan policy of not returning admitted molesters or those judged guilty of sexual abuse to active ministry,” said Tod D. Brown, the current bishop of Orange. “Certainly our hearts go out to the victim.”

At San Francisco Solano, some of the 16,000 parishioners questioned why the bishop had removed their pastor of 12 years because of an old transgression for which, church officials said, he had twice gotten counseling. Some suggested that the church’s new parish hall be named after him.

“I believe that’s what makes us so passionate about the departure of Father Mike, is the fact that the crime he is guilty of took place 19 years ago,” said one parishioner before Griley’s accusation.

“In my eyes, he has done a noteworthy job of changing his life and becoming someone we could feel safe to have our children around,” the parishioner said.

Griley said that kind of talk is what spurred him to take action. He said he lives a quiet life in Central California with his wife and young son. He commutes to Los Angeles three days a week.

“I knew darn well it wasn’t just one kid,” he said.

But he also added that he understood the parishioners’ reactions. “I’ve been there. You idolize this person. They’re devastated, they’re in shock, and they’re in denial. He’s not a nice priest.”

Griley said he didn’t tell anyone about the molestation at the time.

“The thought didn’t enter my mind that this was wrong or to tell my parents,” he said. “This was my priest.”