Irish priest subject of US sex lawsuits

AN Irish priest who allegedly sexually abused at least three women in the United States is the subject of the first of 155 lawsuits which are being taken against two US diocese and which starts this month.

Monsignor Patrick O’Keeffe returned to Ireland in 2002, just days before a warrant was issued for his arrest over child sex abuse charges.

At that point he was wanted on 15 charges over claims that he repeatedly forced a teenager to engage in oral sex when he was serving in a parish near Los Angeles more than 30 years ago. Those charges were dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.