Former Notre Dame professor and alleged sex offender commits suicide

Feb-2016 Texas:

Reverend Virgilio Elizondo, 80, a former Notre Dame Theology professor and accused sex abuser, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his San Antonio home on Monday.

In a 1983 lawsuit brought forth by an unidentified San Antonio man, Elizondo and another priest, Rev. Jesus Armando Dominguez, were accused of sexual abuse. The Archdiocese of San Antonio was also named in the lawsuit after failing to bring to light the multiple sexual abuse incidents in their cathedrals.

The accuser originally came to Elizondo for guidance after being sexually abused on multiple occasions by Dominguez. However, instead of providing the man with the proper counsel, Elizondo allegedly fondled and kissed him. Elizondo fervently denied these allegations.

According to Thomas J. Henry, the accuser’s representation in the lawsuit, the next step in the litigation was discovery production and the taking of depositions. This step could have potentially unveiled the truth about what happened over 30 years ago.

Dominguez was found guilty on 58 criminal accounts of sexual abuse and as a result was dismissed from the church, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Diocese settles in child sex abuse lawsuit

11-26-2011 Colorado:

A child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of San Angelo was settled Nov. 18 for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit stemmed from allegations a former altar boy repeatedly was raped by the Rev. David Espitia as he was assigned at various churches throughout West Texas.

Espitia was found dead in his rectory June 13, 2003, just days after he told Bishop Michael Pfeifer of allegations coming forth against him. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, and the Colorado City Police Department later found hundreds of homosexual and child pornography images on his computer, according to court documents.

The assaults, according to plaintiff attorney Tahira Khan Merritt, spanned between 1994 to 2003, beginning when the boy was 7 or 8 until he was 16. Espitia was parochial vicar at St. Anthony and St. Joseph Catholic churches in Odessa, director of vocations and director of seminarians for the diocese and pastor at St. Ann's Parish in Colorado City, according to a press release from the plaintiff.

"Those assaults were never proven in any way legally; they were allegations," Pfeifer said. "We feel we could have defended ourselves had it gone on to the full process of trial."

VA- Man who jumped from bridge faced sex charges

See Private Information:1-14-2009 Virginia:

Man who jumped to his death had charges against him

The man who jumped off an Interstate 95 bridge and died Tuesday was just about to be arrested on child molestation charges in Stafford County.

Court records show that warrants for 46-year-old _________ had already been obtained.

He was charged with aggravated sexual battery and taking indecent liberties with a child.

Sources said the Sheriff’s Office had called _____ about 20 minutes before his jump and asked him to come to the office to be served with the warrants. A detective had already interviewed ______ about the allegations.

ME- Suspended priest found dead from gunshot wound

6-29-2008 Maine:

A priest suspected of sexually abusing a girl in 1979 was found dead Friday morning in the Dover-Foxcroft rectory where he lived.

Police confirmed the Rev. James P. Robichaud, 56, an Augusta native, committed suicide.

Robichaud most recently served at St. Agnes Parish of Pittsfield and Our Lady of the Snows Parish of Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had temporarily suspended Robichaud on Thursday pending an investigation into an allegation he sexually abused a girl 29 years ago, in 1979.

Robichaud, who was born and raised in Augusta, became an ordained priest in April 1979 and the same year was assigned to St. Jean-Baptiste Parish in Lowell, Mass. He served at that parish until 1983.

"This is a tragic end to a story that we may never completely understand," Bishop Richard Malone said in a statement released Friday by the diocese. "It is simply our mission to bring the healing presence of Jesus to this agonizing situation."

The same statement noted there is not yet sufficient information to dismiss or substantiate the abuse charge.

"May His love work through each of us to find compassion for the woman who made the complaint, Fr. Robichaud's soul, his family, friends and parish community," Malone's statement said.

The diocese said it would release further details about the abuse complaint at a later time.

Robichaud attended the Oblate College and Seminary in Natick, Mass., from 1970 to 1971. He later earned a bachelor's in English from Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., in 1974. He studied at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and earned a master's in divinity in 1978.

The announcement of Robichaud's suicide came as a surprise to those who knew him.

"That doesn't seem possible," said Patricia Connery, a Palmyra resident who sits on the St. Agnes Parish Council. "He was a wonderful person."

"He was well-liked and he was a good chaplain," said Denise Roy, a nurse at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass., where Robichaud served as chaplain from 1983 to 1993.

Roy recalled Robichaud was studying to be an emergency medical technician and said the priest had worked with Lowell firefighters.

Harvey Paul, Maine director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called the suicide "tragic."

"We grieve for everyone involved in this sad situation," he said in a statement.

During his nearly 30 years as a priest, Robichaud also served as pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes church in Lowell, Mass., from 1994 to 1999. In 2000, he returned to Maine to become the administrator of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Dover-Foxcroft and St. Francis Parish in Brownville Junction.

In 2005, he added Dexter's St. Anne Parish to his responsibilities.

The three parishes merged in 2007, becoming Our Lady of the Snows Parish. That same year, he also became the St. Agnes Parish administrator.

Robichaud died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, said Sgt. Gary West of the Dover-Foxcroft police.

He said an employee at the rectory found the body in a second-floor bathroom, and it was believed that the shooting took place Thursday evening. No suicide note was found, West said. ..News Source.. by MATTHEW STONE

Former priest, radio host accused of sex abuse, assault

9-17-2006 California:

SAN FRANCISCO -- A former priest who was once a charismatic, nationally renowned youth minister but was later accused of sexually abusing children, has died, authorities said Friday.

The body of Donald Wren Kimball, 62, was found in his friend's home in Windsor, about 54 miles north of San Francisco, sheriff's Sgt. Tim Duke said. Police found no evidence indicating criminal activity, he said.

Mr. Kimball, who was ordained in 1969, rose to national prominence in his early 30s with an award-winning radio show aimed at young people.

He was accused of using his charm and popularity to coerce teenage girls to have sex with him.

In 1990, after Mr. Kimball acknowledged having sexual contact with six young girls, church officials forced him to give up his youth ministry and suspended him from performing priestly duties.

Abuse allegations against Mr. Kimball first became public in 1997. Criminal charges were filed in 2000 -- the same year Pope John Paul II formally removed him from the priesthood.

In 2002, Mr. Kimball was acquitted of raping a 14-year-old girl in 1977 but convicted of molesting a 13-year-old girl in 1981.

The conviction was overturned in 2003 after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law extending the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving children.

The two alleged victims each received about $120,000 after the church settled their civil suits against him. ..more.. by Kim Curtis

Minister Accused of Sex Abuse Commits Suicide

4-5-2007 Alabama:
A bi-vocational Southern Baptist pastor charged last week with molesting an 11-year-old girl in Alabama died Tuesday in an apparent suicide.

Authorities in Gainesville, Ga., meanwhile, said they had arrested a former youth minister at a Southern Baptist church on charges of molesting two boys in their teens, one during a church function inside the church.

Stephen Lyle "Steve" Whittaker, 40, was found dead at a residence in rural Conecuh County in south Alabama, not far from the Florida state line. According to local media, Whittaker had been living in a travel trailer in the yard of his father's residence for about a week.

Whittaker, former pastor of the 33-member Beaver Creek Baptist Church in Baker, Fla., had been working for a trucking company for a few days. He reportedly told supervisors Tuesday morning he had a family emergency. He parked his truck at his father's house about 10 a.m., where he spoke to his father and sister, telling them he would join them later for coffee. He went to the camper trailer. A few minutes later his father and sister heard a gunshot. They went to the trailer and found him dead.

Police said they found a firearm at the scene, along with a note saying whom to contact, funeral plans and where Whittaker wanted to be buried. He is survived by a wife and one child.

Whittaker was out on bond and awaiting trial on a charge of felony sexual abuse. He turned himself in to police in Brewton, Ala., Tuesday, March 27, after the girl told classmates at school Whittaker had repeatedly abused her. One of the schoolmates told her mother, who in turn called the alleged victim's mother. She called police.

Whittaker reportedly admitted to investigators that he touched the girl but denied it was abuse. He said it happened accidentally while they were playing. The girl also told police it occurred during play. Both Whittaker and the child told police the incidents happened many times over recent months.

Whittaker was released from jail on $5,000 bond. The Brewton Standard reported last week that some in the area complained the bond was too low for a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"I guess it was all just too much for him to bear," Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin Booker told the Mobile Press-Register. Brewton Police Sgt. Eric Suarez, the investigator of the Brewton case, told the newspaper reports of Whittaker's death "shocked us." ..more.. by
by Bob Allen

Youth Minister Found Dead Day After Sex Assault Arrest

1-10-2007 Colorado:

CRAIG, Colo. -- A youth minister who had worked at First Christian Church since 2000 and was arrested on allegations he sexually assaulted two girls, was found dead in his home Tuesday, authorities said.

John Graler, 53, was arrested Monday for investigation of felony charges of sexual assault, sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, Moffat County sheriff's investigator Sgt. K.C. Hume said.

Graler was released after posting $50,000 bail. In a statement released to the Craig Daily Press, Moffat County sheriff's officials said deputies were called to Graler's home shortly after 7 p.m.

Foul play was not suspected in Graler's death and officials declined to comment on a cause.

Investigators said they identified two alleged victims, both of whom were between 13 and 18 years old when the alleged assaults occurred.

Hume said in a statement that several people have provided information to investigators about the alleged crimes, which occurred within the past six years.. He declined to be more specific because the investigation was still under way. ..more.. by The DenverChannel.com


Youth Minister's Death Ruled Suicide
1-12-2007 Colorado:

CRAIG, Colo. -- The death of a church youth minister accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers has been ruled a suicide.

The Moffat County Sheriff's Office and Craig Police Department had been investigating the Tuesday death of John C. Graler at his home. Graler's body was found in his home the day after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, sexual assault on a child, and sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.

Investigators said that the two alleged victims were 13- and 18-year-old girls who were in a youth group that Graler led at First Christian Church in Craig. He had worked there for six years.

Graler had not been formally charged but a statement issued Thursday said, "investigators are confident that the evidence collected and information gathered during the course of the investigation would have proved to be irrefutable if the criminal case had been filed by the district attorney's office and tried in a court of law."

An autopsy revealed that Graler died from carbon monoxide poisoning, county coroner Owen Grant said.

A sheriff's investigator would not say if a note was found, but told the Craig Daily Press that aspects of the case were still under investigation.

Graler's funeral service will be held Sunday afternoon at First Christian Church where he worked. ..more.. by The Denver Channel

Pastor under investigation found dead at Mercer Motel

11-5-2006 Pennsylvania:

A Pittsburgh-area Presbyterian minister who was the subject of a television news probe into reports of “public and illegal sexual behavior” killed himself last week at the Mercer Motel.

A woman who answered the phone at the motel, but wouldn’t give her name, said the Rev. Brent Dugan checked in Wednesday evening at the motel located on U.S. Route 62 in Mercer. She said she didn’t remember if Dugan had stayed at the motel previously.

Dugan’s body was found at about noon Friday and Mercer County Deputy Coroner Dr. David Hoyt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Dugan died of an overdose of aspirin and alcohol.

Hoyt — who could not be reached for comment Sunday — ruled the death a suicide.

His death came a day after KDKA-TV canceled plans to air an investigation that focused on Dugan’s personal life because the station “received information from someone close to Pastor Dugan that indicated he was considering doing harm to himself,” the Post-Gazette reported.