STOCKTON, Calif. — A California mom is hoping to track down a former Stockton diocese priest who she says is on the run and responsible for sexually abusing her son years ago.
Precious memories are all Deanna Hampton has left of her son, Trevor Martin.
She and her family were parishioners at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in the early 2000s, which is how they met Father Michael Kelly.
"He was very charismatic," recalled Hampton.
She found it odd when Kelly invited himself over for dinner during their first meeting. Taught to trust the Catholic Church, she allowed dinner to happen and that's when she noticed some red flags.
"I watched his foot, the priest's foot, inching his way to my son's foot. Then he took his toe and started rubbing the bottom side of my son's foot and that freaked me out," she said.
At only 10 years old, Trevor was the altar server at their church.
"He started saying he didn't want to go to church anymore," she said.
It wasn't until her son became an adult that she learned of Trevor's abuse allegations against Kelly, from the ages of 10-12.
Hampton says Trevor — as an adult — testified in a civil case against Kelly involving another young victim.
"I had no idea and in fact, like right now, it's very emotional to think about as a mom what I didn't do. That lives with me every single day, like, how could I? How could I have stepped forward and done the right thing by my son," said Hampton.
In 2014, a Calaveras County grand jury indicted Kelly on four charges including lewd conduct and oral copulation with a child. According to the county district attorney's office, Kelly fled to Ireland during the civil trial.
Trevor was killed in a base jumping accident in 2016 and the DA told Hampton charges against Kelly would be dropped because the victim was no longer alive.
"I asked them to have him come be brought back because of the fleeing during a criminal investigation was a minimum, like a five-year sentence, I would go for anything. They said there's nothing they can do," she said.
Feeling lost, Hampton reached out to the state Attorney General and two weeks ago, she got a letter saying the AG will review the decision to drop the case.
"My whole body was really rejoicing, because I thought this can be an opportunity, not just for my son's case," said Hampton.
Now, she's hoping to do for her son what she couldn't do for him when he was alive — be her son's voice and send Kelly a message.
"I want him to know that this is a steel resolve in making sure he's held accountable," said Hampton.
In a statement to ABC10, the Diocese of Stockton spokesperson said it will not comment on any investigation and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.
District Attorney Barbara Yook says it would be unethical to go forward with the case knowing it can't be proven in court, so there was no choice but to dismiss. However, the statute of limitations in California for sexual assault cases are lengthy and sometimes there are no limitations at all. Her office encourages any other victims of Michael Kelly to come forward and contact her office to be considered for criminal prosecution.
Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the church where Deanna Hampton's family met Father Michael Kelly as Mokelumne Hill Community Church. This story has been updated to reflect the correct name of the church, Saint Thomas Aquinas Church.
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