Oliver O’Grady (65), the defrocked Irish Catholic priest featured in the award-winning 2006 documentary Deliver Us From Evil, has been remanded on continuing bail pending directions from the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions.
The
ex-priest is accused of possessing thousands of pornographic images of
children, having been arrested in Dublin recently.
He was deported from
the U.S. in 2001 after spending nearly seven years incarcerated at Mule
Creek State Prison in California, and has lived at various addresses in
Ireland and abroad since then.
Gardai
detained O’Grady after he is said to have left his laptop on a plane.
It
is alleged that authorities discovered child pornography photos and
videos on the computer itself, on an external hard drive and on a USB
key.
O’Grady became infamous with the
release of the documentary film in which he talked openly about
molesting more than 20 children while he was moved from parish to parish
in California during the 1970s and 1980s.
In
1993, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse
of children under 14. Convicted and jailed in 1994, he was paroled in
2000 after serving just half his sentence.
Speaking with The Irish Emigrant
at the time of the Dublin arrest, Joey Piscitelli, Northwest Director
of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called
O’Grady “a perfect example of how these men are not curable…the last 30
years, every time he gets caught he does it again.”
Upon
his deportation from the U.S., O’Grady moved to Rotterdam, Holland and
volunteered at a Catholic parish, calling himself “Brother Francis.”
However, parishioners recognized him when the documentary was shown on
Dutch television and reported him to police.
By the time authorities
were notified, O’Grady had already fled the country.
In
June, survivors of O’Grady’s abuse in California reacted with fury when
the Stockton Diocese, about 60 miles east of San Francisco, announced
that the convicted pedophile would receive almost $100,000 in pension
money over ten years as part of a deal that ensured he left the
priesthood.
The Stockton Diocese has, to date, paid more than $20
million to his victims, with two lawsuits recently settled at a cost of
$2 million.
Detective Johanna Doyle said that further charges could
be filed, telling the court: “We are talking about thousands upon
thousands of images of child pornography. Children from the age of two
and three up to teenage boys and girls.”
As
part of his bail terms, O’Grady must sign on twice daily at Harcourt
Terrace garda station, and has also surrendered his passport.
He will
appear in court again on March 25th.