by Mark M Bello
“Anything further, gentlemen?” Perry was ready to rule.
The two men shook their heads.
“Step back,” ordered Perry. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the witnesses, who were previously unavailable to testify, have arrived. Shortly, they will provide testimony on behalf of the plaintiff. The defense will have an opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses, and I will grant both attorneys wide latitude.
“You are permitted to decide what weight, if any, to give to this or any other testimony you have heard in this trial. Evidence comes from the witnesses and exhibits presented, not from speeches by the attorneys, not from me. Listen carefully to their answers on both direct and cross-examination. Do you understand?”
Whether they understood or not, every juror nodded in the affirmative. Now that the witnesses had appeared, Judge Perry cleverly appeased the defense by indicating “speeches” given by attorneys or him—including the one he made about obstruction—were not evidence. Thus, Perry’s statement cured the record on appeal.
“Call your first rebuttal witness, Mr. Blake.”
“The plaintiff calls Pamela O’Connell.”
Attorney and witness plodded through the preliminaries and Pam’s religious upbringing in Berea. They discussed her childhood memories, her marriage to Pat, and the joy of giving birth to healthy children. They discussed her positive relationship with Father Foley, other assistant pastors, and her devotion to her church.
Zack intended to establish Pam as a woman of the church, much like Jennifer, who was ultimately betrayed by church and Coalition operatives. Pam was not out to get the church. She had no unreasonable ax to grind. She was here to recount events in her life that began with the arrival of Father Gerry Bartholomew at St. Patrick’s Church in Berea.
“What, if any, changes occurred to St. Patrick’s, after Father Bartholomew arrived?” Zack inquired.
“When he first arrived, positive ones. Everything was wonderful. The boys liked him. Members thought he was wonderful. His sermons were moving and thought-provoking. Father Foley was aging. As time went on, he was less able to relate to the children and younger adults of the parish. Father Gerry was a breath of fresh air to those younger families.”
“How long, after Bartholomew’s arrival, did this harmonious period last?”
“For my family, about two, maybe three months. For almost everyone else, his entire three-year stay at St Pat’s appeared harmonious, to use your word.”
“Why were things different for your family?”
“Because Father Gerry took my children on an overnight camping trip to Cedar Point and sexually molested them.” She trained her eyes on Bartholomew and delivered the words with little emotion. Bartholomew avoided eye contact and stared at the floor. The jury noticed the exchange. Murmurs rose from the gallery. Perry demanded silence and received it, without pounding the gavel. Everyone present wanted to hear this woman’s testimony.
“How did you discover they’d been sexually abused?”
“They came back from that weekend and were . . . I don’t know how to describe it . . . different.”
“Different, how?”
“They were quiet, aloof, tearful. There were violent mood swings. They lashed out verbally and physically at each other, my husband, and me. Their grades were in the toilet, and they refused to attend church or school outings. Their friends stopped coming around, but the boys didn’t seem to care. They spent countless hours alone in their rooms. We knew they liked Gerry, so we asked if they were willing to discuss their problems with him.”
“What was their reaction?”
“They refused. They called him vile names and said they never wanted to see him again.”
“What did you do?”
“At first, I got angry. I taught my kids to respect the church and the clergy. I’ve never heard any of them talk that way about a priest. I thought it was blasphemous. I demanded an explanation. They told me he was a pervert. They turned and walked out on me in mid-conversation. They’ve never treated me with such disrespect.”
Pam’s eyes started to water. Judge Perry handed Zack a box of tissues, which he, in turn, handed to Pam. He waited for her to compose herself.
“Are you ready to continue, Mrs. O’Connell?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“What did you do, after the incident you describe?”
“I recounted the incident to Father Foley.”
Yes! Zack beamed. Notice to the church! Notice to Foley began the cover-up.
“What did he do?”
“He recommended counseling.”
“Religious counseling?”
“No, psychiatric.”
“Did you follow his recommendation?”
“Yes, I did. He even recommended the therapist.”
“Your kids went to see this person?”
“Yes, they did.”
“Who paid for the sessions?”
“The church. I thought it was strange at the time, but Father Foley insisted.”
“What was the result of the sessions?”
“They seemed to have no effect the boys’ behavior. Therapy centered on comfort through religion, and the boys wanted no part of that.”
“Did they ever say why?”
“Not at first, but one day, probably two to three months into therapy, we had a family therapy session.”
“What happened?”
“We were asking the boys why they hated church and school so much.”
“What did they say?”
“They said it was because of Father Gerry.”
“Did you ask why?”
“No, the therapist did.”
“What was their answer?”
“My oldest started screaming and crying. He claimed Gerry was a pervert and did some disgusting things to him and his brothers. He was embarrassed to discuss them in front of me, so I was asked to leave the room. After I left, he advised my husband and this therapist that Father Gerry sexually molested him and his brothers.”
One by one, the Berea parents walked into the courtroom and provided graphic detail of abuse, cover-up, and payoffs at St. Pat’s. Perry ordered the family members sequestered, so no parent heard another’s testimony. Perry wanted no suggestion that these parents were communicating with each other during testimony. As each testified, they were placed in the jury room, guarded by a Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy.
Their stories were surprisingly similar to the Tracey family’s experience. Their children spent an overnight outing with Gerry and a sudden and startling transformation in their behavior and attitude toward Gerry and the church resulted. One by one, they revealed their shock and disbelief when the children told them Gerry sexually abused them. Disbelief became shock and horror when they learned the extent of the abuse. Their children never fully recovered, even with a change of scenery and a complete withdrawal from religion and religious activities.
Presuming Gerry was merely a rogue priest, the two couples demanded a meeting with Father Foley to advise him what they had learned. Father Foley gave them lip service.
“Suddenly, that man appeared,” a parent cried, pointing to Moloney. “He identified himself as a bishop, took over the conversation, offered treatment, significant money, and a change of scenery, in exchange for our silence. He argued the institution of the church would suffer greatly if these allegations, as he called them, were made public.”
Notice to the church hierarchy—Zack was pumped. The Berea parents hammered the proverbial nail in the coffin.
The parents discussed Moloney’s offer and agreed the church could not have been aware of Father Gerry’s issues before placing him at St. Pat’s. They assumed church officials would punish him internally, and prevent him from ever doing anything like this to another child. They accepted an offer of a new life in a new environment, with lifetime psychiatric treatment for their kids, in exchange for telling no one why they were suddenly and mysteriously moving out of state. They eve
n promised not to tell their loved ones where they had gone.
They lost their homes, extended families, religion, and, in no small degree, their children. Their kids would never be the same despite the best care the church’s money could buy.
In retrospect, they could not believe how gullible they’d been. How could that man—Moloney—have known the purpose of their meeting with Father Foley? What was he doing there if Gerry’s propensities were unknown to the church? Why did they trust the church to do the right thing? Of course, church officials knew Gerry was a pedophile before his Berea placement.
They spoke of their painful banishment from Berea, moving away from friends and family. How foolish they were! Their kids were sexually abused and whisked away without an opportunity to say goodbye to family and friends. No wonder they blamed themselves. Why did their parents send them away, in the middle of the night, if all of this wasn’t their fault? Their parents’ own actions, trying to protect their children, created an ocean of unnecessary guilt.
The jury heard the stories of the families’ escape from Coral Springs, minutes before would be abductors arrived. The families hid out on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale and at Disney World and then flew home with Micah Love, only to run into another abduction attempt in Southfield. Had they not escaped that night; they would not have been alive the following morning.
The sum and substance of their testimony continued, “We fled to Ohio. Can you believe it? We decided Ohio was the last place anyone would think to look for us. We hid out in flophouse hotels in Toledo, paid in cash, and never stayed in the same place for more than two or three days. We watched the proceedings on Court TV and tried to determine whether or not our testimony was needed. We decided to return to Michigan. We needed to tell our story, stop running and hiding, and return home to Berea so our kids could reunite with their grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
“We needed to say to hell with the church and this mysterious man who paid us so much and cost us so much more. Most of all, we needed to stop Gerry. Had we spoken up in the first place, the Tracey boys would never have experienced his unique brand of preaching.
“For our crime, we will always owe a debt to this tragic family. We could have prevented their pain. Jennifer and her boys were severely and unnecessarily punished because of our stupidity, fear, and blind, misplaced faith. Jennifer, we are so sorry! Can you ever forgive us?”
As their direct examinations were completed, they were turned over to Walsh for cross-examination. A beaten man, Walsh concentrated on establishing the abductors were never identified, and witnesses could not testify that Bartholomew, the church, or Father Moloney retained their services. Beyond that, there was absolutely nothing he could do. He posed the same questions to each parent, sat down, and then buried his head in his hands. Blake had no questions on redirect and rested his case after the testimony was completed. Walsh had no additional rebuttal witnesses.
Trial adjourned for lunch. Perry ordered the attorneys to return promptly at one-thirty to begin closing arguments. He pounded the gavel, rose, and quickly left the bench.
Jennifer and Zachary immediately embraced the O’Connell and the MacLean families while Moloney and Walsh shuffled slowly out of the courtroom, muttering at each other. Zack suggested Jennifer take the two families out to lunch. He wouldn’t be joining them. He had a new closing argument to write.
The courtroom was empty now. Zack took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and scanned the courtroom. He was about to have his greatest triumph as a lawyer in this place. A silver-plated plaque above the judge’s bench read “Justice, Justice, Shalt Thou Pursue.” He reflected on nine grueling days of trial, leaned back in his chair, and smiled.
He pursued justice for his clients with vigor. Would he secure it? He couldn’t undo what was done to them, but he could secure their financial future by making the church pay for its misdeeds. If compensation wasn’t justice, victory certainly was. A jury verdict would provide a measure of justice, and this victory would send Jake and Kenny a clear message: Once and for all, what happened was not your fault! Perhaps it would send the same message to the O’Connell and MacLean children.
He cleared his head, interrupting his own thoughts. Time to finish my closing . . .
Chapter Sixty
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is the first of two opportunities I will have to address you in what is known as the closing argument. You’ll remember I made some specific promises during opening statement. If I delivered on those promises, I told you I would summarize the proofs and prove I delivered. I asked you to render a significant verdict for the plaintiffs, only if you decided I kept my promises.
Our initial complaint demanded forty million dollars. Judge Perry will instruct you. You may award compensatory damages for the plaintiff's losses, and, if you decide they are appropriate, punitive damages, which punish the defendants.
The amounts we’ve demanded may seem exorbitant. We acknowledge this, but this case has never been about money. From the beginning, my clients sought to send a message to these defendants. Unfortunately, the only message these defendants can be sent is measured in dollars. To prevent similar conduct, this must be a strong and painful message. You may choose a higher figure, any figure you desire. My job is finished after I sit down for the last time. When I do, my clients’ fates will be in your capable hands, ladies and gentlemen. Rendering justice will be your job.
“I must be honest—humble, but honest. This trial went better than we could have imagined. We have proven the defendant, Gerry Bartholomew, repeatedly sexually abused two beautiful young boys, Kenny and Jake Tracey.” He turned and pointed at Bartholomew as he spoke.
“The boys were only fourteen and twelve years old at the time, happy-go-lucky, fun-loving boys, like your sons, nephews, or grandsons. Their whole lives were in front of them. Their worries and concerns were the simple ones of any twelve or fourteen-year-olds. Who are my teachers this year? Will I have friends in my class? Will Mom buy me an iPhone? Will the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, or Red Wings have good seasons? Will I do well in school? Will my parents be proud of me? Will I be invited to cool parties? Will I meet a girl? These should be the problems of Kenny and Jake Tracey. Instead, they worry about whether they can ever get the filthy and disgusting acts of this degenerate out of their minds.” He pointed again at Bartholomew, who lowered his head.
“The boys worry other kids are looking at them funny or treating them differently because they had sex with Father Gerry. They did not have sex with this predator—they were raped! Never mind Bartholomew used his church, his power, and his size to force two innocent boys to bend to his will. What matters to casual friends of Kenny and Jake Tracey is they had sex with Father Gerry! Gross! Kids can be cruel. You know this from your own common experiences.
“Kenny and Jake Tracey worry they will never trust or have faith again. Remember, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, these were religious boys, inspired by the remarkable faith of their mother. Today, as you’ve heard, they refuse to step into the church they were baptized in, where they attended services and experienced happiness all their lives. They’ve had more joy at Lakes than anywhere, but now, they are too disgusted and afraid to set foot in the place. Why? Because Lakes is the place where they met him!” He turned and pointed at Bartholomew, one more time. “Our Lady of the Lakes Church and School is the place responsible for bringing him into their lives. They can’t go in there!
“Kenny and Jake Tracey are in a perpetual state of anguish. You saw their tortured agony as you listened to their deposition testimony . . .” Zack could not mention Kenny’s emotional live testimony because Perry excluded it. However, Zack knew that no juror could completely erase those visual moments from memory. “They are moody, angry, disinterested in things that inspire every teenage boy—sports, hobbies, cars, music, girls, junk food, or school. Their grades have suffered, an issue, which, if not arrested, will have negative consequences in their adult lives.
/>
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard the testimony of Dr. Rothenberg, a board-certified psychiatrist retained by the Defendants. He told you the boys have terrible guilt feelings. Somehow, they feel they brought this abuse upon themselves. Their guilt is compounded by their respect for their mother and their church, which prevented them from discussing the abuse. They buried the pain inside, coerced into feelings of desperation. You heard Dr. Rothenberg say the boys were just beginning their ‘raging hormones’ period. Puberty has been totally disrupted by these events, causing long-term, perhaps permanent, effects on sexuality. Dr. Rothenberg told you many victims of sexual abuse experience depression, flashbacks, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, drug abuse, aggressive behavior, and confusion of sexual identity. Long-term, possibly lifetime treatment is in their future.
“You have heard the haunting and heartbreaking testimony of Jennifer Tracey, who told of her shock and revulsion when advised by Dr. Rothenberg her boys were sexually abused. She told you how the abuse has affected her relationship with her own children. ‘They aren’t as loving anymore,’ she told you. Their grades have dropped, they don’t play with each other like they used to, they have drastic mood swings, they stay in their bedrooms for long periods of time, they have no friends, they don’t pray anymore, and they won’t give their own mother a simple good-night kiss. She told you of the horrible images of abuse she cannot erase from her mind. Please, remember her riveting testimony, ladies and gentlemen.
“You have also heard smug and dishonest testimony from Bishop Moloney. He lied under oath when he denied previous knowledge of Bartholomew's pedophilia. The brave testimony of the O’Connell and MacLean family proves Moloney committed perjury. A bishop in the church swore on oath, to tell the truth in this court, and then lied to you, ladies and gentlemen! Are we surprised? What do we expect from a man who conspires to obstruct justice, tampers with witnesses, plants listening devices in people’s homes and offices, and offers huge amounts of cash in exchange for silence?