FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - In an extraordinary public statement, the head of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese said he has been accused of sexually molesting a high school student 32 years ago. But contacted for details Saturday, the woman who hurled the allegation never said Cardinal Roger Mahony actually touched her.
Mahony himself revealed the molestation claim — and strongly denied it — in a three-page statement on Friday night.
But Mahony's statement gave no specifics about what sort of abuse the woman said had occurred. And hours later, in an interview with The Associated Press at her Fresno apartment, the accuser said she couldn't recall much of what she says had happened that day in 1970.
The woman, now 51, said she was knocked unconscious while fighting with other students at San Joaquin Memorial Catholic High School in Fresno. She said she woke up, found the "bottom" part of her clothing missing and saw Mahony, then a monsignor in Fresno, standing over her.
"When I came to, Monsignor Mahony was there, and part of my clothing was removed. I can't remember exactly what happened," she said. "He was the one that was over me when I opened my eyes. I can't remember what happened after that."
The woman said she couldn't describe the incident in more detail, but she insisted: "I'm not making this up. I know this is a serious allegation. This has been eating at me. I did call police when I was out of high school. They didn't believe me."
In a separate interview with Associated Press broadcast news, she described a second incident in which she said she was kicked in the head and then saw Mahony.
The AP does not identify alleged victims in sexual assault cases, and the woman said she does not want her name used. The woman's name was included in Mahony's statement.
She said she is a disabled former fast-food worker who is taking antidepressants. She also said a psychiatrist told her she was a paranoid schizophrenic.
"My life has been hard because of the incidents," she said. "I live by myself; I have no one to talk to."
The woman said she had kept silent out of fear, but decided to speak up after seeing more and more Catholics allege that they had been abused by priests.
"If these people have the courage to do it, then I'm going to try to do it," she explained.
Mahony, 66, became head of the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1986 and was elevated to cardinal in 1991. He is believed to be the highest-ranking sitting church official to be accused of sexual misconduct in the scandal that has engulfed dioceses across the country in the past few months.
In his statement, he denied the woman's claim and said he has called for both church and law enforcement officials to investigate.
"My personal integrity and reputation demand that I take all possible steps to refute this false allegation," Mahony said. "I pledge my continuing total cooperation with the two investigations under way."
He said the woman contacted the pastor of St. John's Cathedral in Fresno on March 20 and told Monsignor John Esquivel she had been molested. Mahony said he did not recognize the woman's name as someone he had ever met, adding that his contact with the school was limited to occasionally celebrating Mass.
Church officials in Fresno interviewed the woman for two hours on March 25 and turned a transcript of that interview over to Fresno police, Mahony said.
Lt. Tony Bennink of the Fresno Police Department said he couldn't confirm whether an investigation was under way.
The archdiocese serves 5 million Catholics in three Southern California counties. Los Angeles police have said they are investigating reports that the diocese has removed six to 12 priests accused of sexual abuse in cases dating as far back as 10 years.
Earlier Friday, approximately 60 leaked e-mails from Mahony and other archdiocesan officials were released by Los Angeles radio station KFI-AM. In one of them, Mahony urges church officials to get a transcript of the woman's interview to the Fresno and Los Angeles police departments and suggests he is willing to be interviewed by detectives.
In another e-mail, his attorney, Sister Judith Ann Murphy, prepares two monsignors for interviews with investigators in a separate case, saying: "Do not volunteer information. This is not a session to be chatty."
Church officials went to court Thursday to try to keep KFI and the Los Angeles Times from releasing the e-mails but a judge turned down the request.
KFI, which released the bulk of them Friday, said they were provided by a listener who contacted the station through its Web site.
Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said the e-mails were illegally obtained. FBI spokesman Matt McLaughlin said agents are investigating whether someone got them through hacking or other illegal means.