Patrick Colleary is an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting a person under the age of 15 while a priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe, Arizona

Tempe, Arizona

Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...

.

He was suspended in May 2002 after he admitted fathering a child with a woman named Sharon Roy in 1978. She claimed the encounter was non-consensual. However, in a 1997 article, Ms. Roy spoke of a consensual physical relationship with Colleary. In 2002 Colleary was jailed for a month after being accused of molesting a young man, but charges were dismissed under the statute of limitations

Statute of limitations

A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...

.

Colleary was indicted on a separate charge of molestation and another warrant was issued for his arrest in 2003. Colleary is currently living in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and has fought extradition

Extradition

Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...

 back to Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, primarily the basis of the controversy surrounding Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Joe Arpaio

Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio is the elected Sheriff of Maricopa County in the U.S. state of Arizona. First voted into office in 1992, Arpaio is responsible for law enforcement in Maricopa County. This includes management of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, county jail, courtroom security,...

. He has denied all charges.

External links

• A bishop cops a plea, but for victims it's not nearly enough (U.S. News and World Report, 16 June 03)
• US News and World Report coverage
• New York Times coverage of Colleary case

See also

• Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
• Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
• Sex Crimes and the Vatican (Panorama Documentary Episode)
• Ferns Report, on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns
  Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns
  The Diocese of Ferns is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin. The incumbent Ordinary is Denis Brennan....
  
   (Ireland)
• Barbara Blaine
  Barbara Blaine
  Barbara Blaine is the founder and president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests , a national advocacy group for survivors of clerical sexual abuse. She alleges that she was sexually abused during her teenage years from junior high school until graduation by a priest. She revealed this...
  
  founder of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests)