By MARTIN ESPINOZA THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
It has been nine months since the Rev. Francisco Xavier Ochoa slipped across the U.S.-Mexico border after admitting he had sexual contact with three boys, an admission that led to 10 felony charges.
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David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a national support group known as SNAP, said a lengthy extradition process is not unusual.
But he said the Catholic Church should be doing more to locate him.
"California bishops and Mexican bishops could and should put notices in every parish bulletin, diocesan newspaper, diocesan Web site immediately, begging church members and staff to speak up if they know anything about his possible whereabouts," Clohessy said.
Bishop Daniel Walsh could not be reached for comment through Santa Rosa Diocese spokeswoman Deirdre Frontczak. Walsh is participating in a court-ordered diversion program, undergoing counseling for failing to report Ochoa's activities in a timely manner to law enforcement authorities.
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Eric Barragan, director of SNAP's operations in Mexico, said he traveled to Mexico in early November to ask that Mexico's highest-ranking church official, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, do more to locate Ochoa and other fugitive priests.
Barragan said he reached out to members of Mexico's congress for help in finding not only Ochoa, but such fugitive priests as the Rev. Nicolás Aguilar, who has been accused of molesting and brutally raping dozens of children in Los Angeles.Members of the Mexican congress, said Barragan, "are aware and they said they're waiting for action from the United States."
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