Clerical Child Abuser Created and Managed an Isolated Environment for Child Grooming and Assault
(Santa Rosa, CA) – Monday in Santa Rosa, on behalf of two courageous survivors, attorneys from Jeff Anderson & Associates and survivor advocates will:
- Reveal and discuss the first two of multiple lawsuits to be filed under the California Child Victims Act (AB 218) against the Diocese of Santa Rosa and Camp St. Michael for child sexual assault by Fr. Gary Timmons, former diocesan youth ministries director and founder of the Camp St. Michael in Legget, California.
- Reveal and discuss how Fr. Timmons sexually abused both plaintiffs at Camp St. Michael when Fr. Timmons was camp director. One plaintiff first encountered Fr. Timmons during the priest’s assignment at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church (Rohnert Park, CA), where the priest arranged a scholarship for the plaintiff to attend the camp. The second plaintiff encountered Fr. Timmons for the first time at the camp. Both plaintiffs were assaulted at Camp St. Michael, where Fr. Timmons is suspected to have abused multiple children.
- Discuss Fr. Timmons’ legacy of using his position to target, groom and assault children, as well as his arrest and imprisonment in 1995 for child sexual assault. At that time additional counts of child sexual abuse were pending but dismissed due to the statute of limitations. In 2019, Fr. Timmons was included in the list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse released by the Diocese of Santa Rosa.
- Discuss the historic California Child Victims Act (AB 218), a new law that extends the statute of limitations and provides a three-year window for sexual abuse survivors to bring lawsuits in cases that were previously barred by the statute of limitations, no matter when the abuse occurred or how old the survivor is.
- Encourage sexual abuse survivors to come forward confidentially under AB 218.
- Demand full disclosure by Bishop Robert Francis Vasa (Diocese of Santa Rosa) of the identities, histories, and current whereabouts of all clergy accused of child sexual abuse who worked in the Diocese of Santa Rosa.
When
Monday, December 30, 2019 at 1:00 PM (PST)
Where
Courtyard by Marriott Santa Rosa
Sonoma Rooms One and Two
175 Railroad Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
The press conference will be live-streamed via YouTube and on Facebook
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