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Oakland Officials Hound Priest Of St.Patrick's Abbey

by Lynda Carson (lyndacarson [at] excite.com)
Good Samaritin Continues To be Dogged By Oakland Officials After Offering Shelter To Former Inmate Cary Verse.
Oakland Officials Hound Priest Of St.Patrick's Abbey
by Lynda Carson March 30, 2004

Oakland CA-On March 30 2004, Oakland Police Department Lt. Mike Yowell publicly assured the media that the people of Oakland are much safer now that Father Donald Weeks is safely behind bars where he belongs.

Weeks is being charged with unlawful sexual activities and sexual assualt.

After a surprise 11am raid upon St. Patricks Abbey, Lt. Yowell threw the book at Weeks and claimed that they found some pornographic videos and what appeared to be suspected narcotics at St. Patricks Abbey.

Weeks who is in his mid 60's and suffers from diabetes was hospitalized at Oakland's Highland Hospital shortly after being charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual activitity which allegedly occurred 8 years ago or more with a male minor.

Weeks collapsed after being arrested and cuffed while St. Patricks Abbey was being ransacked by the police, and is spending the night at Highland Hospital.

Staff, friends and residents of the Abbey are in shock and disbelief, refusing to believe the charges arrayed against the Priest are true.

Donny Ratcliff, an Abbey Staff Member said, "the Police ransacked Father Weeks residence and I can't believe what the Police are saying about the Priest."

Attorney John Burris, said, " I believe that the timing of the raid and charges against the Priest are highly suspect."

Other residents of the Abbey said that they believe Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente is behind the charges and the raid, and that it is all based upon retaliation against the Priest for helping out Cary Verse and refusing to evict him when ordered to do so by De La Fuente.

Only weeks ago, St. Patrick's Abbey was under fire for helping out Cary Verse, and has since been under attack for alleged code violations and a lack of operating permits.

Since then Weeks applied for and was denied the permit needed to keep the Abbey in place at 3700 E. 12th Street in Oakland.

After receipt of an anonymous $10,000 donation to help the Abbey stay afloat, in recent days Weeks considered moving his Abbey to Alameda or Berkeley because he had faced so much conflict recently in Oakland.

Father Weeks also planned to join protesters at Oakland City Hall for the April 6, City Council Meeting, to oppose the proposed Nuisance Eviction Ordinance.

Presently, 26 men face eviction at St. Patricks Abbey and the future is uncertain as to where they may next find housing under the present circumstances.

Father Weeks is expected to be arraigned in Oakland on March 31 for numerous charges stemming from allegations that he had sex with a 26 year old male that was only 17 years of age at the time.

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by Repost #7
OAKLAND
Priest who ran halfway house arrested
Minister helped predator -- now accused of abuse
Jim Herron Zamora and Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writers Wednesday, March 31, 2004

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/31/WEEKS.TMP

The Oakland priest who drew widespread condemnation for sheltering convicted sexual predator Cary Verse earlier this month was arrested Tuesday amid accusations that he sexually abused a teenager who came to him several years ago for drug abuse counseling, authorities said.

The Rev. Donald Weeks, who has for five years run a halfway house for drug and alcohol addicts at St. Patrick's Abbey, was arrested at 11 a.m. at the abbey. The 60-year-old minister, who is diabetic, was briefly hospitalized after complaining of dizziness and pain and was to be booked into Oakland City Jail on Tuesday night.

Police and prosecutors would not disclose the specific charges against him, but Nancy O'Malley, chief assistant district attorney in Alameda County said Weeks could be arraigned as early as this afternoon.

"We don't have all the police reports yet, but we expect to charge him with multiple counts of sexual assault'' with a minor, she said.

Attorney John Burris, who is representing Weeks in a civil lawsuit against the City of Oakland alleging police brutality, said Weeks had known of the investigation before his arrest and denied wrongdoing.

"He has made it very clear that there has been no inappropriate contact with anyone under the age of 18,'' Burris said. "He has maintained that he is innocent of any criminal activity.''

Oakland police Lt. Mike Yoell said police had learned of the alleged crimes, said to have occurred when the victim was 16 or 17, about two weeks ago from an informant. Authorities later found the alleged victim, who is now 26 and confirmed the allegations.

"We had to track him down,'' Yoell said. "But he cooperated with the investigation.''

Neither Yoell nor O'Malley would discuss further details.

Donny Ratcliff, acting administrator and chaplain at the abbey, said Tuesday that the charges against Weeks were bogus and characterized his arrest as retribution for having briefly sheltered Verse earlier this month.

The alleged victim is a recovering drug abuser and friend of Weeks who spent five years at the abbey, Ratcliff said. He first met Weeks through one of Weeks' previous ministries, he said. Weeks ran the Holy Angels ministry at 9424 International Blvd. in Oakland from 1995 until 1999.

"This is really ridiculous," Ratcliff said. "By him taking this man under his wing, they are alleging this is something sexual when it wasn't."

Police and state parole agents arrived at the abbey at about 10 a.m. They removed Weeks' computer hard drive, personal papers, photographs, videotapes and a VCR, Ratcliff said.

"They went through his personal Bibles," Ratcliff said. "They tore up his bed. They went through his drawers. They were even looking in the toilet."

Ratcliff said Weeks' arrest had temporarily halted the abbey's relocation to 39th Avenue in Oakland.

"The person that wanted to rent to us is scared now," he said.

Weeks founded the abbey five years ago to serve as a transitional housing program for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.

It housed about 24 residents and six church officials in relative anonymity in the Fruitvale District until Verse arrived March 11. His presence outraged neighbors and city officials, who took a closer look. Building inspectors subsequently found that building violated several building and zoning codes and ordered residents to move out.

Verse moved to San Jose on March 15.

E-mail the writers at jzamora [at] sfchronicle.com and kstjohn [at] sfchronicle.com.


Page B - 1
The Article about Ignacio De La Fuente, and the Nuisance Eviction Ordinance(NEO), includes coverage of Father Weeks' encounter with Ignacio De La Fuente and Lt Yoell.
http://www.indybay.org/poverty/#1942

Some background on why Lt Yoell is notorious for being abusive in the black community.
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/03/1675690.php

Maybe their is more going on here between Lt Yoell, the OPD and Ignacio De La Fuente and the politicians. There is definitely some sinister collusion of sorts going on within these 2 stories, even the Chronicle story above seems to pick up on it.

But of course everyone knows that the struggle is over a better Oakland, where we can all have a place to live, and cops will be cops. It just sucks that they are trying so hard to push on certain communities in this community, and they will be pushing them right into prison, some shitty job, or the military. Not much choice there, other than to leave Oakland, or stay and fight the power.

See ya on the streets...
See ya April 6th at City Hall in Oakland at 5:45pm...
To Fight the NEO and ongoing Police Abuse
for more info check out links above...

See ya April 7th at Oakland Police Headquarters at 4pm,
then join Bikes not Bombs as they ride on West Oakland,
or join the march on the Port of Oakland starting at the West Oakland BART at 5pm
for more info check out:
http://www.indybay.org/antiwar/#1919
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