From The Orange County Register: Brown Accuser Talks About His Past

Here's the story: Brown accuser talks about his past; A man goes public with an allegation of abuse. Church officials decry attack on a 'good and decent' bishop.

Here is Mr. Scott Hicks' letter to the Bishop of Fresno claiming he was abused: Scott Hicks' Letter To Most Reverend John Steinbock, Bishop of Fresno

My thoughts:

I'm extremely skeptical of the merit of so-called "recovered memories". I'm also wondering where the other boys/victims Hicks claimed to have encountered are now. I'm also concerned about Hicks' admission that he detests the Church, which would be a motive for lying.

I'm not familiar with many "recovered memories" detailing abuse that have proven true. Perhaps other people are, but experts seem to disagree about the merit of such memories, if they can be called that.

That being said, Bishop Tod Brown is guilty of pushing others under the bus by revealing unsubstantiated allegations against them (Fr. Dick Delahunty is one example), but hiding those made against him, while promising transparency through his Covenant With The Faithful publicity stunt.

It is good that the accuser is revealing himself. This way the truth has a better chance of coming to light, and Bishop Brown has a better chance of clearing his name if he is innocent, because now people have a better sense of the allegations against him and the man behind them.

A lengthy quote from the Orange County Register article follows the jump...

Here's the quote:

Hicks, 54, has lived in the Central Valley for most of his life; been married to his wife, Julie, for 28 years; He's had the same job, as an agricultural scientist, for 25 years. He says he has no criminal record, never filed a lawsuit, and has only received one parking ticket. The Register was unable to find any records that dispute those claims.

In a sworn deposition taken this month in a Mater Dei High School sex-abuse lawsuit, Brown, 70, was asked about an accusation that he had sexually abused a 12-year-old boy 42 years ago. Brown testified that the accusation was "untrue."

Shortly afterward, Hicks came forward, saying he was the man who went to the Diocese of Fresno 10 years ago and said he was molested by Brown in 1965. He told the diocese that psychological counseling helped him realize that the abuse by Brown "was not a fantasy, but a detailed memory."

Fresno diocese officials deemed the accusation false.

Hicks could not offer up anyone who could corroborate his story. He also did not tell anyone of the abuse at the time. He also says he has had multiple abusers, according to his Newport Beach attorney, Ryan DiMaria, who would not identify who they are.

Brown and John Steinbock, the bishop of Fresno who investigated Hicks' claim 32 years after the alleged abuse took place, declined requests for interviews.

Orange diocese attorney Peter Callahan spoke in the defense of Brown, who gained a national profile when he approved a $100 million settlement for 90 clergy-abuse victims in 2005.

"Bishop Brown has already made it clear in his deposition that this alleged incident did not occur," Callahan said in a statement. "This is an attack based on uncorroborated allegations decades old, and as such it is almost impossible to defend against as many of the people who could and would have come forward to dispute these claims are deceased."

"Bishop Brown is a good and decent man and he has led the way among many bishops across the country in trying to resolve the pain of victims who have been harmed in any way by any things or persons associated with the Church," he continued.

In Fresno, diocese officials say they conducted several interviews of Hicks and others, and had the claim reviewed by a diocese sex-abuse board. Afterwards, the diocese found there "was absolutely no factual or credible basis whatsoever" to Hicks' story, according to a statement by the Rev. Jesse Avila.

Church officials say they turned their internal reports over to Kern County prosecutors in 2002. Kern prosecutors said they referred the case to the Bakersfield Police Department. Police there said they have no recollection or record of looking at it.

Both Brown and Hicks say they were never interviewed by police – a fundamental part of a sex-abuse investigation.

Regardless, by the time the case was reported, it was too late to file criminal charges because the statute of limitations had run out, according to Kern County prosecutors.

What is left then is Hicks' story, which he says is a recovered memory pieced together after years of therapy. It begins in a wooden confessional at a small church in Bakersfield 42 years ago.

The eldest of three boys, Hicks attended catechism classes at Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Monday nights. His father, who is still alive, worked as a stockbroker. His mother, a devout Catholic, was a homemaker.
One day, when Hicks was 12, he went to confession with other students. He confessed to peeking at his father's Playboy, he says, and told Father Tod Brown.

Afterwards, Brown asked Hicks to come with him. Hicks followed Brown into a side room in the church, where he says Brown abused him.

"After that, I blank. It goes dark," Hicks says.

Hicks' recollection of the two other times he says he was abused is less clear. All he remembers of the second incident is walking with Brown past the church rectory, spotting another priest and hoping the priest would save him. But the priest walked by. Hicks can't recall what happened next, but believes Brown assaulted him.

"I feel the same fear, the same panic when I think of that time, just like I had during the first time it happened," he explains.

The third time, Hicks says he was in a car driven by a man – not Brown – to an office off church grounds. There, he says he was abused by the man and Brown, who he says arrived later. He doesn't recall anything else.

"The mind can do that, you know – block things," he says quietly. "I can still do it."

Hicks' family moved to Fresno when he was in high school. He remained depressed and anti-social, suspecting something had happened to him when he was a child.

He attended Cal State Long Beach. After graduation, Hicks met his wife, Julie, while working in Monterey.
Around that time, Hicks toured Catholic missions. That's when he suspected his depression was rooted in his Catholic upbringing.

"I couldn't get myself to go into the churches," he explains.

He began therapy in 1990. He was having marital problems and was depressed. He wanted to know what was wrong.

Therapy helped him unleash his memories of abuse, he says. After about three years, he says he gradually realized Brown abused him.

Hicks would not give the Register permission to interview his therapist, so it is difficult to verify his account of how and when he remembered the alleged abuse. Mental health experts disagree about the validity of such recovered memory.

Brown University Professor Ross Cheit, who runs "The Recovered Memory Project" Web site, said Hicks' account is typical of memory loss and recovery in abuse cases.

"Since this man has nothing to gain by making this claim – and given the way he pursued it for years in his own mind – it sure sounds to me like what he remembered was extremely compelling," Cheit said. "That makes it more likely, in my mind, that it is true."

But University of California, Irvine Professor Elizabeth Loftus said Hicks' account raises a red flag because he only remembered what happened through therapy.

"False accusations often involve highly suggestive psychotherapy," said Loftus, a psychologist who specializes in memory. "You need to ask, where is the corroboration? Without independent corroboration, there is no way to know if a memory is real."

Afterwards, recalling the abuse as he drove through Bakersfield, Hicks decided to visit Our Lady of Perpetual Help and walked around the grounds. The church was locked. "I was scared, but I got closer to accepting what had happened," he said.

He then told his wife what had happened. She became angry at the church.

He also told his parents. His father was angry, Hicks says, wanting to beat up Brown. His mother didn't have much of a reaction. She seemed indifferent, Hicks says.

In July 1997, Hicks sent a letter to Steinbock saying he was abused at least once by Brown and asked Steinbock to investigate and make sure Brown was not abusing more children.

Steinbock replied a week later, referring Hicks to psychologist Dr. Kevin McCready. Hicks says he was evaluated and McCready told him the report would not be given to him. The Diocese of Fresno rejected the Register's request for the report. McCready died in 2004.

A month after sending the letter, Hicks got a response from the diocese, saying the investigation "revealed no indication of inappropriate behavior or activity."

Hicks said he never thought of suing the church or going to police. He said he wasn't ready, even as past abuse by Catholic clergy became a national issue and others across the country received large settlements. He says he became more depressed, and he was diagnosed by his therapist with dissociative identity disorder.

Things started to change last year, when a group of victim advocates came to Fresno.

Hicks met with members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. He told them he had been abused by Brown, who was by then the bishop in Orange County. Immediately, one activist phoned Ryan DiMaria, a former clergy-abuse victim who won a $5.2 million settlement in Orange County. DiMaria is now a lawyer who represents clergy-abuse victims.

Earlier this year, Hicks sat for a polygraph test in which he was asked if Brown molested him.
Hicks' attorneys allowed the Register to inspect the report, dated April 5, 2007. Examiner Jim Massey wrote there was "no deception indicated" in Hicks' account.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[Christopher H.]

Brown should take the offensive and tell him to retract his statement or he will sue him.

You dont pull a lions tail just to hear it roar.

If people file false police reports, they should get punished. It might cause people to think twice.

But I also think that if one person takes they polygraph the other should also. Once we start having both tests come out nondeceptive then we have the real issue to deal with.

What is the history of polygraphs being used in any of these cases?

[Terry]

I honestly do not know about this case, but as far as recovered memories, I know they can be authentic. Both my sister and my brother were abused as children - I knew about it as a younger sibling. Both had no recollection of it, although my brother, who went through therapy suddenly recalled what happened, but couldn't accept it untill I told him I knew about it had occured. My sister has never gone through therapy and can still not recall the events, although she continues to suffer from nightmares - which she cannot recall the substance of - and she is in her 60's. I do believe the phenomenon is real - when it has happened to children. I don't know about adolescents.

[Aaron]

While I think that Bishop Brown has essentially failed as a Bishop, I am very skeptical of this charge. As Catholics looking for a change in OC, we don't want to hitch our cart to a lame mule.

[Consanescerion]

Not recovered memories! Will he start accusing bishops who abused him in his past lives as well? Will he accuse bishops of dressing up as aliens to abduct him? Recovered memories are so much more INTERESTING (think World Weekly News and 9/11 Truthers) than real memories.

[RobK]

The article reminded me of the McMartin allegations where kids were coaxed into remembering events that did not happen. I am not a fan of some of the bishop's decisions (in fact a lot of them), but if this is the kind of evidence that makes it into the press, then this is shameful.

[jameswrich1234]

As a therapist myself, the late 80s and very early 90s were years of pronounced fascination with "repressed" memories. There is some research on the topic that is mixed at best. The field fell into disrepute by legal debacles starting with McMartin and some others. Numerous lives have been ruined by faulty repressed memories.

Without any independent corroborating details or testimony, plus the lack of any other allegations concern Bishop Brown, it is unlikely, in my opinion, to have happened. More allegations from other disinterested people, however, would change my mind.

Does someone who risks getting another adult to help rape a boy sound like a one-timer? Finding another scum bag like this would take some exposure in the environs of child sexual abuse. Is someone so incredibly reckless so as to molest a boy on Church grounds never going to commit the crime previous or after? Come on. There should be dozens of victims, given this M.O. These are the actions of a serial child rapist (e.g., the La Habra Priest).

It's been ten years since this allegation came out, plenty of time for other victims to share their similar stories. This doesn't mean he never did any of these things, but taken together with the dubious repressed memory field, and I think I have to give the benefit of the doubt, for now, to Bishop Brown.

[Thomas A.]

I'm much more respectful of a "repressed memory" case when the victim was of tender years at the time of the molestation - 4 to
9 or 10 years of age. By age 12, I have a harder time believing that a 12 year old would not remember the details of 1 or 2 incidents of molestation. Yet, several troubling facts give me reason to feel uneasy about the whole scandal:

1. Bishop Brown's response so far is nothing short of a DISASTER, which is very interesting, considering the fact that he is said to rely heavily upon publicity agencies for public image mgmt.:

2. The Diocese 0f Orange has made matters
worse by claiming that "the authorities" investigated and found the allegation to lack credibility, only to have the press reveal that no criminal investigation seems to have occurred at all. Are these misleading statements by diocesan officials merely the result of incompetence, or something more deceptive? -
either way, it doesn't pass the smell test;

3. Our bishop's patently obvious predilection towards homosexual rights during the last 8 years, and his promotion/defense of clergy of like mind during this time offer little comfort to our peace of mind as to what happened;

4. Finally,the fact that the victim in this case came forward some ten years ago (almost five years PRIOR to the public disclosures of the priestly scandals), and that he seems to be beyond reproach in his
character, and motives for coming forward, all lead me to believe that something happened. It's almost as if Brown is just waiting for another victim to come forward.

One thing is certain - - the longer Bishop Brown hides from the issue, the worse it will look for him. I know that if someone falsely accused me of such a vile act, I would confront the situation head-on and forcefully, especially if I know that the press is waiting to barbecue me in print otherwise.

[carlos]

Thomas A, the accuser's believability can be impeached is several ways. First, none of the other children that were in attendance during the second incident of molestation have ever come forward to corroborate the accuser's story or--indeed--even to place Bishop Brown at the site of the incident. Second, the accuser waited many years AFTER he had "remembered" the events during a therapy session to come forward with his allegations. Without more evidence, there's no way the State could prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thomas A.,

Only God and Bishop Tod Brown know the truth. Someone else also mentioned that Bishop Tod Brown should step forward and speak up about it. The problem with this suggestion is that Bishop Brown was not able to recall anything and just about forgot everything, when he was questioned in his deposition on recent events. He did seem to remember though, how long he had been together with Father McKiernan. Time will tell if there are more accusers with similar accounts and new evidence.

Bishop Brown did himself no favor by not following his own Covenant to be open and transparent. Also, by trying to seal the records, it tends to make one question if he was hiding something.

God will judge the truth. If Bishop Brown is innocent, God knows. If he is guilty, God knows. There will not be lawyers saying I object, to God on the day He judges our actions. God even has jurisdiction over Canada.

Atlanta Catholic

[Nota Bena]

One Billion Dollars! And it CONTINUES and CONTINUES! What is the Church is doing to its own flock? Where are the lawyers for the people of St. Norbert's parish? We got shoved down our throats a sick and mentally defective priest. When do we get to ask the questions? It was really funny, the Yellow insert in the parish paper from the lawyer for Urell. Yellow, the color of a coward! So, Norbert's parish is now being run by a outside lawyer! I thought the Catholic Church was of the people, by the people and for the people. I guess it's for the Cult of the Priest's only. The hell with their priestly sacrament! Urell, you can run but you can not hide from the truth! Anxiety, that's his sub-conscience eating away at his soul!

[Jimbo]

First off, the Covenant was written and posted many years after the accusation of Bishop Brown. How can you really blame him for not holding himself to the same standard if it hadn't been made yet? Come on people!

Perhaps you could argue that given the fact that Bishop Brown knows how hurtful and devastating an accusation can be he should not have promised "transparency" that would only hurt priests mistakenly accused. Fine. But come on folks. Let's be reasonable.

[Atlanta Catholic]

Jimbo,

Was it reasonable for Bishop Brown to reveal the names of other priests who were accused but not charged with anything?
Their reputations are ruined for life. Why did he not give them the same benefit? I don't think that honorable men have different standards for others. They have consistent standards. Do unto others as you would do unto yourself.

Sorry, Jimbo.... Reasonable or as unreasonable as it seems, Bishop Brown wrote the Covenant and chose the wording. He applied transparency to others and not himself. Some of those charges for the other innocent priests stemmed back as far as Bishop Brown's accuser's letter to Fresno Diocese. The timing of his ill-fated Covenant has nothing to do with being honest. C'mon Jimbo! "Even" Cardinal Mahony, revealed the accusations against himself to the public. It is more than reasonable to hold Bishop Brown to the standard of his own chosen words. Open and Transparent.

Speaking of the Covenant.... Many Catholics and good priests were reasonably furious that Bishop Tod Brown emulated Martin Luther, by hammering his half a million, disastrous P.R. attempt, to the Cathedral door!

Atlanta Catholic

[jameswrich1234]

I did think that was a very poor choice of "symbolic" acts. I guess he could have emulated some symbolic action associated with the beginning of the Arian or the Novatian heresy, if only history could have detailed any good, memorable ones.