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Monday, July 28, 1997

Priest set for trial on sexual assault charges

SINTON, Texas (AP) - Four days after the Catholic Diocese of Dallas was slammed with a record judgment in a priest molestation case, a trial was set to begin for a South Texas priest charged with sodomizing an altar boy.

The Rev. Jesus Garcia, 39, is accused of assaulting the boy in 1992 during an overnight stay at the rectory of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Mathis, a town 30 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.

The boy, who was 15 at the time, contends Garcia slipped drugs into a glass of milk, then sodomized him when he was in a sleep state. He says the priest asked him to spend the night because he was scheduled to assist at Mass the following day.

"That was the night that killed our family. That was the night he stole our lives from us," the teen's mother said in an interview before a gag order was issued against all parties in the case.

The priest maintains his innocence, and the Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi is standing by him.

"We follow the great American principle that an individual is innocent until proven guilty," said Marty Wind, a spokesman for the diocese. "It's very important that Father Jesus gets his day in court. I'm just sorry it took this long to come to trial."

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday morning.

The case comes just days after a civil jury ordered the Catholic Diocese of Dallas and a suspended priest to pay $119.6 million to 10 men the priest is accused of molesting and the family of another who committed suicide. The award was the largest ever rendered in a priest molestation case, attorneys said.

A civil lawsuit also is pending against Garcia by his accuser and three other men who say he assaulted them in a similar manner. A fifth plaintiff, who is a former deacon and the father of the accuser in the criminal case, contends Garcia fondled him during a 1994 pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

A grand jury declined to indict Garcia in connection with the other allegations.

The lawsuit also names the Catholic Church, the Corpus Christi Diocese and its former bishop, Rene Gracida, accusing them of conspiring to cover up Garcia's acts and of attempting to coerce the plaintiffs into keeping quiet.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages. Wind said he could not comment on the lawsuit because it is pending litigation.

The accuser in the criminal case came forward in 1994, when he told his parents of Garcia's alleged acts. Several days later, the family informed then-Bishop Gracida, who in turn contacted prosecutors.

Within days, Garcia left Mathis in the middle of the night and later surfaced in Spain. Even after he was charged in March 1995, Garcia refused to return to Texas.

In a letter to prosecutors, he said he had left the country with Gracida's permission and planned to remain in Spain to care for his ailing father.

Authorities were working to extradite Garcia when he voluntarily returned last December. He was released on $25,000 bond and has remained at a Corpus Christi parish awaiting trial, Wind said.

The allegations against Garcia have divided the 5,600 residents of Mathis, where he served for 10 years at the only Catholic church in town.

Old-timers faithfully support him, while younger residents stand behind the friends they believe were violated by a man they trusted.

"There's a lot of people who don't want to realize what he did," said one of Garcia's accusers, who continues to live in Mathis with his wife. Her grandmother still has a picture of Garcia in her home.

Garcia's Masses drew more than 400 worshipers every Sunday. He was a counselor and friend to all, including his accusers, who often invited Garcia over for dinner, residents said.

"I love him like he's my own kid,"said 78-year-old Mabel Gregorcyk, a retired Mathis teacher who attended one of Garcia's pretrial hearings with several other supporters.

Fingering a gold cross that hung around her neck, Ms. Gregorcyk said of the allegations against Garcia: "I don't believe it.

"I told him, 'Father, I'll be so happy when this is over.' He said, 'Mabel, just have faith.' And he does. He has faith in whatever he's doing."

Garcia's accusers said they have lost their faith. The one thing that might restore it, they said, is seeing Garcia in jail.

One accuser said he hoped the trial would "open the people's eyes, so they can see that even the most holiest of people can be devils. Just because they're wearing the cloth, it doesn't mean they're holy." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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