Keywords by David Yonke

This story ran in the Australian newspaper and just came to my attention. Please read the last paragraph, which refers to the Robinson case. -- David
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Priest was a killer: victim

By Gary Hughes

May 26, 2006 12:15am

THE Catholic Church has accepted as substantially true allegations that a Melbourne priest took part in satanic rituals in which a number of people were murdered.

The Melbourne Archdiocese paid $33,000 to the man who made the allegations as compensation for the repeated sexual and physical abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of the priest.
According to documents obtained by NEWS.com.au, the Archdiocese's independent sexual abuse investigator, barrister Peter O'Callaghan, QC, described the details of the ritualised murders and sexual abuse provided by the victim as "extraordinary".

"...but I have no reason or justification for doubting his credibility," Mr O'Callaghan said in a letter to the victim's lawyers in October, 2000.

Contrite: George Pell's apology to the victim

Earlier, in a formal interview with the victim, Mr O'Callaghan said he was satisfied the man was telling the truth.

"I see no reason why I shouldn't accept what you say," he said, according to the transcript of the meeting. "Amazing as it is, I accept it."

The Melbourne Archdiocese's Vicar General, Monsignor Les Tomlinson, told NEWS.com.au that the independent investigator advised Victoria Police about the allegations when he first learned of them in 1999.

He was told the victim had already notified police he had been sexually abused "and was a witness to murder".

"The police advised that inquiries had been made with the homicide squad and their missing persons records and intelligence was unable to confirm the allegations and that there was no current investigation into the matter," Monsignor Tomlinson said.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the force was checking its records for details on the notifications it received before deciding whether it could comment on the case.

In a sworn statement given to the Archdiocese in November 1999, the victim said he was first abused as an 11-year-old by the priest in Melbourne in the early 1960s, while serving as an altar boy at the Sacred Heart Church in Sandringham and attending a Catholic school.

The abuse continued for three years and included being repeatedly sexually and physically abused during what appeared to be satanic rituals by the priest and others. He said the priest, who has since died, owned at least one firearm.

In his statement the 56-year-old victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, gave details of at least three deaths - a young woman, a young man and a young child - that occurred during the rituals over a number of years.

Two victims had their throats cuts and a third was killed with an axe. The bodies were mutilated and partly dismembered after the killings. In his statement, the victim says the victims appeared to have been drugged before being killed.

"I have some gruesome memories of killings," the victim said. "I still feel totally overwhelmed and blown away when I recall these incidents. All these memories are extremely traumatic."

Animals, including cats, were also killed during the rituals.

"I remember being told loudly and forcibly that God is evil and Satan is good and Satan is more powerful. On another occasion I was told that good is evil and evil is good and that Satan is all powerful and has control over the earth, and that I am evil and that is good," the victim said in his statement.

Some of the rituals, the victim said, took place in an old house owned by the Catholic Church in Sandringham on the site where the new Sacred Heart Church now stands.

Monsignor Tomlinson said he was not aware of any similar allegations having been made to the Melbourne Archdiocese.

The independent compensation panel made a $33,000 ex gratia payment to the victim in March 2001 after his claims had been investigated by Mr O'Callaghan. The Archdiocese is still paying for psychological counselling for the man, who has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as suffering from complex post traumatic stress disorder "as a result of experiencing multiple traumatic events" in childhood.

In accepting the compensation payout, the victim had to agree not to take further legal action against the Archdiocese.

The victim said he had decided to speak out following publicity surrounding the recent trial in the United States of Catholic priest Gerald Robinson, who was found guilty of the ritualised murder of a nun.

Today is Father Gerald Robinson's 70th birthday. He is incarcerated at Hocking Correctional Facility in southern Ohio.
The Toledo Catholic priest has spent the last 23 months in prison after his May 11, 2006 conviction on charges of murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980.
I could not let this day slip by without mentioning the priest's landmark birthday.
* * *
On a related matter, I finished my movie treatment of "Sin, Shame & Secrets" last week and sent it to the producer. I'm awaiting his comments. This was a fairly major revision of my original treatment, for which I tried to do too much. This time around I based the movie on a straightforward chronological unfolding of the plot, similar to the way my book is outlined.
As a rookie at filmmaking, I think I was overreaching the first time around. There was a disconnect, as the producer said. This time it flows well and I think the story is a riveting one.
I'm hoping he'll like it and only need minor tweaks.

Toledo, Ohio
April 14, 2008

After months, and in some way years, of anticipation, the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals today issued its decision in the Gerald Robinson murder case.
In a shockingly long and meticulous 95-page ruling, the three-judge panel upheld the guilty verdict from the Toledo priest's 2006 trial in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Attorneys on both sides said it was the longes decision they had ever seen from the appeals court. Judges Handwork, Pietrykowski and Skow reviewed the appeal line by line, virtually, referring repeatedly to the 4,000 page trial transcript and evidence from 2006.

The appellant's arguments were rejected point by point, from claims of ineffective council to an unfair delay from the time of the crime until his arrest.
I wrote about it for tomorrow's paper; you can read the entire 95 page decision online here.
I must say that Robinson's defense attorney John Donahue of Perrysburg is convinced that the priest did not murder Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
Dean Mandros, assistant Lucas County prosecutor, said he realizes there are some segments of society who can never accept that a priest could commit such a heinous act.
But the detailed, lengthy and thorough appeals court ruling made it abundantlly clear that the judges feel the legal process was fair and impartial and that there were no errors in the trial.
Donahue plans to pursue this to the Ohio Supreme Court.
* * *
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my article on the woman who channels a dead saint is running tomorrow and one of my editors suggested I should have had her call up Sister Margaret Ann. I'm not sure what to make of that but now I wish I had thought of it when I was doing the interview.
That article is also running tomorrow with an online audio sample of the woman channeling Padre Pio.
* * *
Tomorrow I'll be going to the Jame Farr LPGA golf tournament in Toledo on a highly unusual assignment: covering it for the society column. Our society writer, Barbara Hendel, is ill and will be out for a while so everyone is being asked to pitch in and cover something. I am delighted that my assignment is the golf tournament.
I might grumble about my job from time to time but if I do, please stop me and remind me about the time I got paid to watch women play golf.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
July 11, 2008

Now that the appeals court has ruled so decisively against Father Gerald Robinson, upholding the 2006 guilty verdict, his next step is to take his appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Here is a copy of the article that ran yesterday at the top of page 1.
That court accepts only 8 to 9 percent of the cases submitted to it, according to John Donahue, Robinson's attorney.
In order for the Supreme Court to choose this case, it will have to involve something of broader legal interest than the highly unusual -- dare I say unique -- case of a priest who killed a nun, as Rick Kerger, another Robinson attorney, told me.
The issue his attorneys are hoping will catch the court's eye is whether the lapse of time between the crime and the arrest prevented a fair trial. With the plethora of cold-case arrests and trials, this does seem to be of potential interest, especially if, as I was told by Mr. Donahue and assume it is accurate, the court has not written about this since 1984 when cold-case arrests were less common.
Meanwhile, even if the supreme court does decide to accept the case, which is not a sure thing, it will be a minumum of six months and as much as two years before the 70-year-old priest will get another day in court.
The wheels of justice turn slowly, and when the criminal is in his 70s every month and year seems to be even more precious.
* * *
I had a number of Robinson supporters tell me that I would have to apologize to the priest for what I've written, once he wins his appeal. Haven't heard from them since the ruling.
Of course, I would never apologize anyway because all I did was report what happened. I didn't convict him of murder, the legal system did.
But even though he lost his appeal, I'm sure there are people who are convinced the priest is still innocent. There's nothing that would possibly convince them otherwise. All they want to do is think of the good things he has done, the marriages and baptisms and sermons... They don't want to look at the other side, the one that was proven in a court of law, the side that they didn't see firsthand, that of a twisted killer.
There are times when I almost feel sorry for Robinson wasting away in prison but then I catch myself when I think of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl and how this devoted nun died such a horrific death.
I'm glad our judicial system is working.
* * *
Toledo, Ohio
July 13, 2008

Mark Davis, attorney for Survivor Doe and Spouse Doe, filed a motion involving their legal battle with Gerald Robinson and the Toledo Catholic Diocese.
Here's a copy of The Blade article about the motion that was published today:

Lawyer asks court to force Toledo Catholic Diocese to provide data

The attorney for a woman suing Toledo priest Gerald Robinson after accusing him of satanic ritual abuse has filed a motion asking that the Toledo Catholic Diocese be forced to provide documents and interrogatories related to the case.

Attorney Mark Davis, representing the Toledo woman who sued anonymously as Survivor Doe with her husband Spouse Doe, said in a motion filed yesterday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court that the diocese has not yet provided pertinent information despite repeated requests. The motion requests that Judge Ruth Ann Franks order diocese officials to "fully answer the plaintiff's requests for production of documents and interrogatories."

The diocese will have a chance to respond to the motion.

Survivor Doe, now in her mid 40s, claims she was repeatedly raped and tortured by Robinson and Toledoan Jerry Mazuchowski in satanic rituals starting in 1968.

Her civil suit was filed in April, 2005. A May, 2009, trial date has been set.

In an unrelated case, Robinson was convicted in May, 2006, for the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl and is serving a 15-years-to-life term in a southern Ohio prison. The Sixth District Court of Appeals recently affirmed his conviction.

Mark Davis, the "Bald Eagle" attorney (his billboard slogan) who represents Survivor Doe in her civil lawsuit against Father Gerald Robinson, has filed a motion to compel the Toledo Catholic Diocese to answer questions and produce requested documents.
Survivor Doe's suit, filed in Lucas County Commony Pleas Court in April, 2005, claims that Robinson and others tortured and sexually abused her in satanic rituals when she was a child.
Davis said in his latest filing that he repeatedly requested documents and interrogatories from the Toledo diocese and its attorneys, but without result. The only correspondence he received, he said in the motion, was a suggestion for a confidentiality agreement from Tom Pletz, the diocese's attorney. That suggestion was rejected by Davis.
The motion to compel was reported in a brief newspaper article earlier this month. I thought some people who have an interest in the Father Gerald Robinson case might want to know a few details about Davis' motion.
Here are just a few of the items and questions the attorney addressed to the diocese in his motion:
* Names of employees who worked at St. Adalbert's Church [where Survivor Doe allegedly was abused], including priests or clergy, from 1968 to 1972.
* Names of all persons or entities who may have relevant documents in the case.
* Names of persons who were witnesses to any factual scenario in connection with this case.
* Names of expert witnesses the diocese intends to call in connection with a trial.
* "State if the Diocese of Toledo has ever been involved in any criminal or civil litigation within the last 10 years, state the name and address of the court(s), the case number(s); and whether you were a plaintiff or defendant."
* "State the names of all the priests, clergy, and or other employee of the defendant diocese who has been accused of sexual misconduct within the last 10 years."
* The employment history of defendant Robinson.
* State if Gerald Robinson has ever been treated for pedophilia, ephebophilia, and/or psychosexual disorders.
* "Produce any and all documents, including police reports for each and every every incident the police were called for, allegations against any priest for misconduct of any kind during the time Gerald Robinson was employed."
* All records relating to Gerald Robinson from the Diocesan Lay Review Board.
* "Produce all records relating to investigations relating to claims of Satanism, Satan worship, or Devil Worship within the Catholic Diocese in the Northwst Ohio and South Eastern Michigan region."
* * *
Those are just a few of the requests, and the answers should be interesting.
* * *
A co-defendant in the case, Jerry Mazuchowski, filed a request for an extension and was granted until Sept. 9 to respond to Survivor Doe's motion.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
August 23, 2008

I met a woman yesterday who had an interesting story to tell about Gerald Robinson, the priest convicted of murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
This woman, whom I will not identify here, called for a hospital chaplain in October 2003 to pray for her father, who was near death in a local hospital. This was six months before the priest's arrest.
The woman's friend was in the room as well, and I spoke with her about this incident also.
Father Robinson arrived at the hospital room and gave this dying man last rites/extreme unction.
Shortly after, the woman's father died. Understandably upset, the woman asked Father Robinson if her father was in heaven.
According to both women who were there, Robinson turned away from her, went over to a dresser where he was putting away some things away, emitted a strange laugh, then turned to her and said coldly, "I don't know."
He acted very, very strangely, both women said. The woman who had lost her father said it was so creepy that she stopped going to Catholic Church.

Her friend, who is a Muslim, said the least he could have done is given the grieving woman some encouraging words, not a cold laugh and an "I don't know."

I've heard a number of stories of bizarre behavior by Gerald Robinson, but this is one of the most disturbing. As far as I know, Father Robinson has not been laicized and therefore remains an ordained priest in the Toledo Catholic Diocese.
* * *
Toledo, Ohio
August 30, 2008

Had lunch today with Bob Larson, the man who kicks out demons for a living. He is a charismatic and controversial figure because of his strong personality and the nature of his ministry.

For starters, a lot of people don't believe there are demons, so an exorcist seems like a joke or a charlatan to them. Second, Bob Larson's flair for the dramatic makes the skeptical even more suspicious.
He will be featured in a new reality tv show on the sci-fi channel called "The Real Exorcist." I'll be writing about it in the near future and will let you know when to look for it.
Bob has read "Sin,Shame & Secrets" and we spent a long time discussing the case and the possible demonic and satanic implications.
There is no way to really know what happened inside Gerald Robinson's head or in his soul, so we were only speculating. But Larson regularly deals with people who have demonic manifestations,having performed by his count well over 6,000 exorcisms.
He said Robinson could fit a category that he has seen many times in which a man was molested or traumatized as a child, and then suppressed those memories, creating something like an alter ego or a multiple personality. The core person carries on his life unaware of this trauma that is festering in this separate personality. But this other personality is living the trauma in the now, never dealing with it, never moving on. It becomes like a volcano ready to blow, Larson said. This personality is subject to demonic possession/oppression when it manifests.
It is possible that Robinson had this separate personality that rarely got out beyond his core personality. When it did, it was a violent and demonic personality out for destruction.
In many cases, the actions of this suppressed personality are not remembered by the core person. But a crime as heinous as the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl would be unlikely to be totally suppressed, according to Larson.
Another thing he said is that a person who is living his life for the good and then gets angry at God is more likely to go from one extreme to another than is your typical law-abiding citizen. In other words, if Robinson devoted his life to serving God as a priest and then became mad at God and the church, he would be a logical candidate for satanism and demonic activity. Larson said he has seen people flip this switch many times.
As I said, Larson is only speaking in theory and generalities, not having met Robinson. But he does have a lot of experience in this area and certainly is one of the world's leading experts on demonic possession.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Oct. 6, 2008

I made a routine check of Father Gerald Robinson's status with the Ohio Department of Corrections.
Yes, he's still incarcerated at the Hocking Correctional Facility in Nelsonville, Ohio.

Gerald Robinson's prison file photo. .

Maybe this item has been on the web page before but I just noticed that the "maximum sentence expiration date" is listed as 01/01/8888.
That's year 8888, as in 6,880 years from now.
I suppose the corrections bureau is making sure that with potential medical advancements in the next few years the offender doesn't outlive his life sentence.
The first possible parole hearing for Robinson, who turned 70 last April, is in March 2021.

Here's a link to the site if you're interested.
* * *
In a totally unrelated note, Democratic presidential candidate Barack is camped out in the Toledo area this week preparing for the debate on Wednesday night.
* * *
Toledo, Ohio
Oct. 13, 2008

Got a call from Father Jeffrey Grob yesterday. He's the Catholic priest from Chicago who testified in the Gerald Robinson trial on the occult aspects of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl's murder. He was the assistant to the exorcist of the archdiocese at the time of the trial in 2006.
I had called Father Grob a week earlier for an article I was working on about Bob Larson, the minister who will be starring in a reality TV show called The Real Exorcist. Father Grob returned my call too late to be included in the article but we had a good conversation nonetheless.
I asked him if he got any negative comments for testifying against Father Robinson, and he said no, quite the contrary. Many people, including priests, commended him for telling the truth about some of the horrible things that had been going on with Robinson. They were glad he exposed the occult crimes for what they were, instead of letting them be covered up.
He also said he read "Sin, Shame & Secrets" and felt that it was very well written. He liked the Bob Larson article as well, calling it "a very good read."
Father Grob said he and Bob Larson "come from very different traditions" and that while he does not think exorcisms are suitable for reality TV, he supports Larson's idea that the program may help people by showing that demon possession is real.
By the way, got a complaint letter from someone blasting the Larson article, saying I should've included comments from "mainline" ministers. I pointed out that Rev. Roger Miller, who is quoted in the article, is from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I think that qualifies.
Sometimes people get mad at me because articles don't say what they want them to say.
I never mind getting criticized by a reader who has a reasonable argument or points out a legitimate error.
What I find tiresome, though, is when people attack me because they have such strong emotions on a particular subject that they can't see straight, and they are irate because I am not promoting their agenda.
* * *
Watched the World Series last night... the Rays couldn't get a break, every close pitch was a ball for Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir and a strike for the Phillies' Cole Hamels. Replays showed several really poor calls by the home plate umpire.
The weather was absolutely horrible and the Rays were down 2-1, playing in rain and 39-degree temperatures, at the halfway mark, so it would have been an official game if the umps called it on account of weather. That would have been the end of the series and the Phils would've won.
Thankfully for all concerned, the Rays scored a run in the top of the 6th, tying it up 2-2. The game was quickly suspended and the teams wi'll resume where they left off. That tie really took the pressure off the umps and MLB officials.
It would have been a tough way to lose the series if the game was called before 9 innings.
Tampa Bay still faces tremendous odds but at least they survived another day.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
October 28, 2008