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NOTORIOUS LB PRIEST GETS 10 YEARS

Will SwaimMon. December 03
 

Documents reveal he raped at least one victim in an Ocean Boulevard condo

One of the most notorious priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese accepted a 10-year prison term in exchange for his guilty plea today in the molestation of two boys, one of whom, The District has learned, he raped in Long Beach in the 1990s.

Father Michael Stephen Baker’s surprise deal with the Los Angeles County District Attorney allowed the diocese to avoid a lengthy trial. But victims present for the sentencing at the Criminal Courts Building downtown still had their chance to describe Baker’s impact on their lives, some tracing responsibility for Baker’s attacks to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony himself.

According to documents reviewed by The District, Baker visited Cardinal Mahony on Holy Thursday, just a few days before Easter 1987, and told the top archdiocesan official that he had molested children. According to victims’ attorney John Manly, Mahony sent Baker to the Servants of the Paraclete, a pedophile treatment facility run by the Catholic Church.

(Full disclosure: Manly is a District investor.)

Baker spent six months in treatment and returned to Los Angeles. Mahony sent him back into ministry at several LA County parishes through 2000. According to victims’ attorneys, Mahony never warned parishioners about Baker’s status as a molester and the priest was allowed unfettered access to children.

Baker raped one of those children in a Long Beach condo on Ocean Boulevard. According to law enforcement sources, Baker and an unnamed Long Beach woman owned the condo.

A series of civil suits in which Baker was named prompted a criminal investigation. That ended when sheriff’s deputies and District Attorney agents arrested Baker in Los Angeles as he returned from a trip to Thailand in 2002.

During today’s sentencing, victims and their representatives spoke about Baker’s impact on their lives. A 10-year-old girl said she’ll never forgive the man who raped her father when he was just a boy; her father stood at her side weeping. Referring to Baker’s close relationship with high-ranking church officials, another representative said real justice would be served the day Cardinal Mahony shared Baker’s cell.

The victim statements were occasionally pyrotechnical. At times, deputies moved between speakers and Baker, apparently fearing survivors might physically attack the priest.

The final victim’s representative held up a photograph of his son, perhaps seven at the time, in the arms of Father Baker. He explained that Baker had just finished Mass; he pointed out the joy on his son’s face, and Baker’s intimacy with the boy. His son could not be present for the hearing, the father explained, because he has suffered a lifetime of drugs, alcohol and despair—all of it, he said, beginning with Father Baker. Then, addressing Baker directly, he said, “We trusted you. How could you do this to us and our family?”

He paused and then paraphrased the Gospel of Matthew, telling Baker, “For he who hurts one of my children it would be better if you placed a millstone around your neck and threw yourself into the sea.”

Baker said nothing.

In the end, Baker shook hands with his attorneys and left the courtroom, likely bound for state prison. In a moment of supreme irony, it was at about that same moment that the Archdiocese funded the $600 million settlements it agreed to last summer to settle hundreds of molestation cases.

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Viewing 9 Comments

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    Just received this email:


    All the other publications refer to the charges as molestation and that is what Father Baker pled to. Why does your story use the word rape multiple times?

    And don't tell me that you are just quoting law enforcement. You don't have to use language that you know is inappropriatewithout exposing it as such.

    It is from stories like this that much of the public gets the idea that any man who ever commits a sex offense necessarily will repeat that offense. Many get the idea that any man who is attracted to boys will, without question, act on that attraction. Both of those notions are untrue, of course.

    I hope that you will find opportunities to correct the false impressions that these sorts of stories create.

    An irrational fear of pedophiles, is sweeping the nation. The existence of draconian laws plays into this falsehood because only those who are accused of committing crimes come to the attention of the public, or for that matter, nearly anyone’s attention.


    Bagoas
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    Bagoas is right: I do refer to sex between an adult and a child as "rape." I was unaware until now of any campaign to create in the public mind a sense that molestation as a crime is somehow superior to rape. --w
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    Then, too, there was the testimony yesterday of a survivor who claimed that Father Baker pulled the boy's pants down, buried boy's face in a pillow to muffle his cries and then sodomized him. Irrational fear?
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    oh man! nambla apologist! what a freak, "an irrational fear of pedophiles" wtf?
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    Whoa Bagoa, something doesn't smell right....you wouldn't say sodomizing a child is considered rape? Irrational fear of pedophiles? hmmm, fearing someone who physically and mentally injurs a child, possibly affecting them for the rest of their lives. Yep, sounds warranted to me. You need to find a different bandwagon dude...something a little less creepy.
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    Jesus thinks that Bogoas has some very troubling ideas about sex with children. They are identical to the Roman Catholic Hirearchy's views. Jesus think's Bogas would make an excellent priest.
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    Dear Mr. Swain,
    You and many others would be surprised to find out that there actually is a movement to legalize sex with children by lowering the age of consent laws. It's scary but true-- there are communities online dedicated to "educating" the public that "childlove" is healthy for kids and that pedophiles are normal people who merely have a sexual orientation for children.
    In the wake of the Jack McClellan story, I began researching and found quite a few online message boards promoting "girllove" and "boylove." Believe it or not, these people actually fault protective parents for being villians by not introducing sex to kids at a young age. They claim children's rights are violated by being sexually opressed. These people do not want to call it rape, or even molestation because they want to call it "loving" your kids. They think they know what is better for your kids than you do.
    The truth is that pedophilia is currently considered a mental illness. Sex with children is against the law for good reason.
    In addition, these same pedophiles want to eliminate the Sex Offender registry because they feel it violates their personal rights. They also claim that their recidivism rate is low, when in fact, child molesters are very likely to repeat their offenses because they can't help themselves.
    Bogoas, has in fact just introduced you to one of the biggest stories of our time. And the press doesn't even report on it. People don't realize how prevalent that pedophiles have become on websites like YouTube and MySpace. Parents really need to learn about these organizations and start speaking up against them. They also need to be aware of what their kids are doing online.
    I encourage you to dig deeper into this topic. I think you and your readers would be shocked.
    Sincerely,
    Grace
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    Thanks, Grace. Good info. Before I begin digging into the story (along with my colleague Rachel Powers), can I just say, "Yecch"?
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    Those comments by Bogoas are either a reason for concern by law enforcement or a reason for him to seek professional help or both. There is no rational justification for softening the language used to describe such acts. This person is either a pedophile, a victim of childhood molestation himself, or more likely both as is one of the sad truths about this psychological disorder.

    I have witnessed first-hand the effects that such abuse has had on its victims and I can tell you that it is worse than murder in the effect that it will have on that person, their family, and all the people they encounter through their lives--who will most likely include additional victims.

    It is called rape because it is not consentual! It is not consentual because a child does not have the capacity to determine his/her will in such matters--especially when confronting those who are in authority, somebody with whom he/she has laid trust.

    It is sad, and it is nearly unforgiveable but it is a crime and it is avoidable.

    You can not glorify this illness by identifying it with historical victims Bagoas!
 
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