Late in 1999, I received an approach from a Californian law firm that were seeking the location of a paedophile priest. It was understood that he had returned to his native Ireland. But the lawyers were worried. They knew Ireland was a largely Catholic country and feared an agency such as mine might not want to rock the boat.
Father Oliver O’Grady had been sentenced to fourteen years for a series of sex assaults on twenty-five children, beginning in 1973. The details were horrific, his victims mentally and physically scarred. He committed his crimes while based at California’s Diocese of Stockton, about ninety minutes east of San Francisco. His was a particularly well-known case given it emerged that his superior, Cardinal Roger Mahony, had tried to keep details of his crimes under wraps. Unfortunately for him, everything was brought into the cold light of day. In 2006, three years before the approach to my office, a documentary on the scandal by Amy J Berg called Deliver Us From Evil had shocked viewers across America to the core.
O’Grady who had served seven years, was paroled in 2000, and duly booted out of the USA. He was back in Ireland, and rumour had it, in the care of the Roman Catholic Church. But given the outrage directed at him, O’Grady had disappeared from sight.
The law firm was acting on behalf of a group of his victims in a class-action lawsuit. They had got together to sue the Catholic Church in California for the immense damage caused to them and their families. So, despite being based in Ireland, they asked if I would go in search of the disgraced sixty-four-year-old. Would I find and then serve him with legal process from the California court? I assured them I’d be happy to do so.
O’Grady hailed from Limerick in Ireland’s south-west. George Richter, our franchisee there, wasted no time. He put together a team and got stuck into some old-fashioned legwork. They knocked on doors of old friends and relatives, visited clergy, phoned everyone they couldn’t physically reach. A few members of the church came on board to assist, clearly not wanting anything to do with suggestions that their employer was sheltering a man the tabloids had called a “monster”. And the Irish police were also happy to help behind the scenes.
It took about two weeks for Agent George Richter to track the paedophile to a Catholic retreat in County Limerick. In line with good practice, he began watching the property to photograph O’Grady in advance of getting his identity confirmed. And he also wanted to ensure he didn’t vanish. After a few days, George had some excellent pictures in the bag, which we emailed to the lawyers in California. In turn, they double-checked everything with the victims in question.
Funnily enough, while waiting to hear back from the Americans, George went to answer a call of nature at the retreat. On his way back he very nearly bumped straight into O’Grady. The rarely seen child rapist was out for a walk in the grounds. George was certain this was the right man although we had still not heard back from the US. But an opportunity had presented itself and George didn’t miss a beat. He introduced himself to O’Grady and O’Grady introduced himself to George. The identity was right. The men chatted for a while. Religion came into the conversation quite quickly with O’Grady suggesting he was a very holy bloke and wanted to know all about George’s worshipping habits. The paedophile went on to say he was staying at the retreat for a while and was hopeful of a posting in mainland Europe in the near future.
George let him prattle on, feigning fascination to the point that O’Grady, his ego boosted, asked George to drop round for a cup of tea some time. Our agent was only too happy to agree and asked for the details of his lodgings in the large retreat.
Unfortunately, things went a little pear-shaped from there. George had called me to tell me about the chance meeting and I had called California to do the same. The lawyers were delighted, but they were not exactly moving at warp speed. I had not yet even received the court documents that we would need to physically hand to O’Grady. They asked me to sit tight but to call off the surveillance in the meantime. Their reasoning was that the priest had suggested he would be at the retreat for a while. This turned out to be a mistake.
A few days passed before a sizable FedEx package arrived at my office in Belfast. The bundle of papers cited every detail O’Grady was entitled to know about the class action relating to his crimes. I forwarded the lot to George in Limerick and he made his way back to the retreat. But there was no answer at O’Grady’s door. And, a while later, still no answer. George approached a few priests to find out his whereabouts. They didn’t know. What they did know was that he had moved on. We were crestfallen.
A second search began. We got back on to the police who very helpfully circulated O’Grady’s image around stations saying he was being sought in terms of the serving of legal papers from victims. We spoke too with Irish journalists and others in the hope of getting word out about our slippery priest. And all the while we couldn’t help wondering if he had landed that post he spoke of and sloped off to some unfortunate parish somewhere in Europe. The church contacts in Ireland just did not know. Whatever had happened, it was suggested, it was being kept top secret.
We rang and wrote to Catholic organisations in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and elsewhere. We said this man was a dangerous predator who should not be allowed anywhere near children, that there were fears the church in Ireland might have sent him their way.
We were stunned when the first result came back. O’Grady had been spotted working in a pastoral role under the name of Brother Francis at a Catholic Church children’s school in Rotterdam. An incredible discovery and an unfathomable, despicable decision to place him there in the first place. He’d been recognised by people who had seen the documentary. They were horrified to learn that such a man had been anonymously let loose among their kids.
An Irish newspaper got hold of the story as the outrage in Holland surfaced. It reported: ‘Monster Irish Paedophile Priest Discovered Working with Kids in Holland.‘
His cover blown, O’Grady was off and running again. He dashed to the airport, apparently in disguise, and caught an Aer Lingus flight back to Dublin. He was arrested on landing and we were alerted that he was being held. We arranged for someone to get the papers in Limerick and bolt over to Dublin to serve him pronto. But he was gone again by the time they arrived. The police had no choice but to let him go. O’Grady had committed no offences in Ireland. None that had been recorded anyway. So where had he gone? Once again, we were stumped.
All my staff were manning the phones, doing what they could to get useful feedback from various church-linked hostels, training centres, retreats and anywhere else. A breakthrough came when Gardai got in touch with a tip-off. They had heard he might have checked into a B&B near Dublin’s Connolly Station. Off went our agent with that bulky file under his tired arm once more He entered the B&B and asked the landlady if one Father O’Grady, aka Brother Francis, was a guest there. She confirmed that he was. She seemed to have some insight into what it was all about. Indeed, she was a little concerned that our agent, although exhausted, might be about to attack and perhaps even kill the paedophile. Our man said he would do no such thing. The lady said she would arrange for Father O’Grady to meet him in a small room which served as part of the bar.
The men met at last, and our agent described O’Grady as appearing extremely depressed and a little humble. He said he was polite and expressed his concern about the press and others being on his case, which I’m sure was terrible for him. He took the documents, placed the package into a plastic carrier bag and said he would look at everything later. We advised Gardai he had been served and thanked them for their help.
We learnt later that O’Grady had left a bag on the plane during his flight back to Dublin from Amsterdam. When police examined items inside, they found child porn photos and videos on a hard drive and a USB key. Some of those featured were aged as young as two. In December 2010, O’Grady was arrested in Dublin for his latest sex offence and later sentenced to three years.
In 2012, the law firm in California was in touch once more. They needed me to arrange for the serving of a further batch of legal process. Luckily on this occasion we knew where our man was — he was banged up in jail.
After serving his time it seems Father O’Grady, a clearly relentless pervert, went straight back to his old tricks and built up another collection of child porn. Yet when Gardai were alerted and went to get him, they learnt he had fled Ireland. In 2019, a European arrest warrant was issued, and after a time, he was tracked down to the Algarve, Portugal. He was deported back to face the charges in Dublin. In October 2020, aged seventy-five, he was sentenced to twenty-two months at Waterford Circuit Court for possession of child porn.
THE FOLLWOING REPORTS APPEARED IN THE MEDIA:
Paedophile priest flees back to Ireland, where he is a free man
Apr 26, 2010
Monster Irish paedophile priest discovered working with kids in Holland
Notorious paedophile priest Father Oliver O’Grady is back in his old haunts in Ireland a free man after fleeing Rotterdam in Holland, where it was discovered that he was working with children and in a local Catholic church, calling himself “Brother Francis.”
O’Grady abused hundreds of children during his thirty years in America as a priest. One victim was only nine months old. He served seven years out of a 14-year prison sentence before being deported to Ireland in 2003.
O’Grady was unmasked in Holland a few weeks ago after a 2006 documentary called “Deliver us from Evil” was finally shown in the country. The documentary is based on his activities while in America and the priest was immediately recognized.
According to the filmmaker Amy Berg, who made “Deliver Us from Evil” and who was contacted by local Dutch parishioners, O’Grady was “contacted by Dutch police officers that had been tipped off by his neighbors who had seen an advertisement for the film.
“O’Grady quickly disguised himself and fled, taking a train from Rotterdam to Schtipol. He managed to catch the last plane out of Amsterdam on Aer Lingus at 20:45.
“Needless to say, the community was terrified and is still in a state of panic and shock. Another family told me they had been very close friends with O’Grady and had even traveled with him along with their nine-month-old child,” Berg wrote on her blog.
O’Grady was flying back to freedom. Berg called her two friends in Dublin, Irish artists and filmmakers Noel Donnellon and Daniel Holfeld.
“Within two days (after visiting his old haunts) they provided me with six photos of a bearded Oliver walking freely without a care in the world. He was perusing bookstores, cafés, and living the life of Riley,” blogged Berg.
Local police in Ireland say they can do nothing, as O’Grady has not committed any crime since he was deported from America in 2003. He is due to receive a large retirement benefit from the church when he turns 65 in June, according to Berg.
Father Oliver O’Grady served as a priest at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Lodi, California from 1971 to 1978. He later served at Church of the Presentation in Stockton, California, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Turlock, California, St. Andrew’s Parish in San Andreas, California, and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Hughson, California.
In 1993 he was convicted on four counts of “lewd and lascivious acts” on two minors, the brothers John and James Howard, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Attorney Jeff Anderson said the Howards were repeatedly molested between 1978 and 1991, from age three to 13. Anderson claimed church officials knew that O’Grady had abused children as early as 1976 and 1984 but had done nothing. Police had been informed of earlier charges and had declined to prosecute.
Irish ex-priest who abused at least 25 children in California arrested in Portugal
Oct 25, 2019
2016 Deliver Us From Evil,
Father Oliver O’Grady.
Former priest, Limerick-born Oliver O’Grady arrested on child pornography charges and will be returned to Ireland to face up to his crimes.
The former Catholic priest Oliver O’Grady has been arrested in the Algarve, in Portugal, under a European Arrest Warrant.
O’Grady, born in Limerick, was ordained as a priest in California in 1971. The paedophile was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United States for the rape and sexual abuse of at least 25 children, including two young brothers.
He was paroled after seven years before being deported back to Ireland in 2000.
In 2006, O’Grady was the subject of an award-winning documentary, Deliver Us from Evil. The movie detailed how he preyed on children and how the Catholic church moved him from parish to parish and knew that abuses were happening.
The documentary, by Amy J Berg, won the Best Documentary Award at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2012, he was sentenced to three years in prison by Irish authorities when child pornography was discovered on his laptop, which he’d left on an Aer Lingus flight. Further investigations found nearly 280k images of child pornography on O’Grady’s laptops and hard drives.
Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria (police) confirmed on Thursday that O’Grady had been arrested on Monday (Oct 21). He is expected to be sent back to Ireland, the Irish Mirror reports.
It believed that O’Grady was picked up on a new offense unrelated to his previous crimes. The Policia stated “The Policia Judiciaria, through its Criminal Investigation Information Unit, carried out an operation on October 21 in the Algarve area, to execute European Arrest Warrants against two people, an Irish national and a French-Portuguese national, aged between 46 and 74.
“The Irish national was wanted by the Irish authorities on suspicion of a crime of child pornography.
“This individual, who has already done prison time for similar crimes in the United States, returned to his homeland where he alleged committed a new crime.
“He moved afterwards to Portugal and the Algarve area where he has now been located and arrested.
“He has been remanded in prison after a court appearance pending his hand-over to the Irish authorities. [sic]”
It is thought that O’Grady and the other man arrested were picked up after a tip-off by an organization dealing with child abuse which also subsequently discovered he was in hiding on the Algarve.
While O’Grady was living in Ireland, after he served three years for the possession of child porn, a local Bishop issued a public letter warning priests, parents, and schools that a “dangerous pedophile” was in their midst.
In 2018, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan wrote “I have today been updated about the activities of an extremely dangerous pedophile who lives in Waterford City but is not from here. Attached you will see his photo.
“Oliver O’Grady, ex-priest, is a convicted pedophile. He is actively seeking victims in our midst.”
At the time O’Grady also admitted that he had been working to have his online history removed from the Internet so that his crimes might be forgotten.
