A retired 75-year-old priest, Father Denis Lyons has been charged with sexually abusing a boy repeatedly in the sacristy and rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, reports calcatholic.com. Father Lyons was charged in 2003 with the abuse of another boy, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California law that had extended the statute of limitations on such cases was unconstitutional and he escaped the charges even though they had been corroborated. Father Lyons was arrested on July 23rd and bail was set at $100,000. He posted bail and was released the same day.
Lyons is charged with 4 felonies. If convicted, the former Catholic priest faces a mandatory 14 year jail sentence. Lyons also served at St. Edwards the Confessor in Dana Point and St. Mary's by the Sea in Huntington Beach. The Orange County DA's Deputy Investigator is seeking out other individuals who may have suffered abuse from Father Lyons. It is reported that already $4 million in settlements has been paid out to victims of sexual abuse by Lyons by the Diocese of Orange earlier, but up to now, Father Lyons has escaped the law, based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Father Lyons was suspended from the ministry in 2002.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of clergy abuse, it is crucial that you contact a clergy abuse attorney to assist you. The legal team at the Zalkin Law Firm is dedicated to helping victims of this crime seek well-deserved compensation.
