The Worthy Adversary

Category: Mater Dei

  • Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update

    Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update

    What the heck is going on?

    If you saw the local news this week, probably saw headlines about the $3.5 million settlement that the Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a survivor of former Mater Dei Principal Michael Harris. The diocese also put out a horrible, tone-deaf, anti-survivor, unchristian statement about the survivor and the settlement, but that’s going to be the subject of a later post.

    But back to the settlement … As a result of the news, I have been getting a ton of questions. Let’s answer a few:

    Why could this survivor come forward?

    The survivor in this case came forward because of AB 218, the California Child Victims Act. It was a law that opened the civil window for survivors of child sexual abuse, allowing them to come forward and sue the person who abused them, as well as any organization that covered up the abuse.

    How many other survivors have come forward because of this law?

    There are approximately 4000 cases pending across the State of California (this number is loose, because several California dioceses have taken the coward’s route and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy). Not all of these cases are against Catholic entities—AB 218 was written so that survivors of child sexual abuse in public schools, camps, and other youth-serving organizations could use the civil courts for justice.

    According to attorneys for survivors, there are 227 child sexual abuse and cover-up cases pending in the Diocese of Orange. In October of this year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement with approximately 1300 survivors of child sexual abuse.

    How many of these cases involve Mater Dei High School?

    I wish I could give you a good answer, but there are several challenges. The primary hurdle is that for the first 20+ years of the school’s existence, it was a part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (The Diocese of Orange was formed in 1976 and Mater Dei was founded in 1950). Cases of abuse that occurred before 1976 (and yes, there was abuse and there are documents to support survivors accounts) are a part of the $880 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

    The second challenge is that while the cases are coordinated, the much of the information is under protective order. (If there are attorneys out there repping these survivors who feel comfortable sharing info with me, please do). I do know that one firm, Jeff Anderson and Associates, has eight Mater Dei cases. Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi also has a bunch (attorney John Manly is a graduate of the school), but I don’t have an exact number. I’ve also spoken to other firms who have a case or two.

    So, while I can’t give a solid number, I can say this: the number is big and it’s ugly.

    Why did this Harris case settle while others are under protective order?

    This Harris case (as well as 9 others) were chosen as “Bellwether cases.” That means that the judge asked the two sides (the church and attorneys for survivors) to get together and choose 10 cases to take to trial. All of these cases settled before going to trial (no surprise there), but during the process, survivors’ attorneys were allowed to take depositions, conduct investigations, and gather evidence. (Spoiler alert: once this starts, the diocese starts to look reeeeeeeaaaally bad).

    Because these cases resolved somewhat peacefully, the judge has ordered a new set of bellwether cases to be released for trial. Ten of those cases are for the Diocese of Orange and two are from Mater Dei.

    The Mater Dei cases include another Michael Harris case and a child sexual abuse case against former Mater Dei football/track coach Patrick Callahan.

    Another predator on the bellwether list who will be familiar to readers of this blog is All American Boys Chorus founder and director Fr. Richard Coughlin. He was sent to OC from Boston in the 1960s because he—you guessed it—abused kids. So, he came here to OC and founded a boys’ choir. Because that’s what you do …

    Later posts will discuss other perps on the new bellwether list.

    Got other questions? Intel? Let me know!

  • School for Scandal 101: Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High School

    School for Scandal 101: Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High School

    Recent hazing and violence lawsuits against Mater Dei have alerted a lot of noses to a stink that has been brewing for years: decades of child sexual abuse, hazing, and cover-up at the infamous high school.

    The parents of a recent hazing victim remarked to me that they had had no idea about the scandals at the school—what happened to me, what happened to dozens (perhaps hundreds) of other kids, and the administration that has always put the school’s reputation above child safety and obeying the law.

    And for decades, kids like me and their own son paid the price. This has to stop.

    So, over the next few weeks, this blog will be devoted to a comprehensive guide to the places, the personalities and the events that made this “school for scandal.”

    The Basics: The People Who Made it Possible

    This below is a “living” list of known, credibly accused predators who worked at Mater Dei. As more names are exposed, they will be added here with the date of addition. Some of the predators were there for decades. Others, just a few weeks. But grooming and abusing a kid doesn’t take much time, especially when you have the power to withhold a kid’s spiritual life, school transcripts, ability to graduate, or college admissions …

    You can click on each name for an introductory article. I invite you to do more research on each of them.

    And Mater Dei doesn’t stop at sex abuse. When a storied football coach assaulted and choked a female (and much smaller) athletic trainer because she wanted to keep the locker rooms locked, he got promoted in the press and she was forced to leave the school. The trial ended with a hung jury:

    And Mater Dei shouldn’t consider this list complete. A couple of years ago, California opened a new civil window for survivors—AB 218. This law allows survivors of abuse—no matter when the abuse occurred—to use the civil courts to expose predators and institutional cover-up. The first two years of the window were stunted by Covid and windows in other states. But starting last week, California is one of the only states with an open civil window. As a result, I expect this list to grow. Exponentially.

    Keep checking back here for updates. Future posts will include abuse facilitators, events, media attention, alumni reaction, how Mater Dei treats victims of abuse, and other topics.

    But when push comes to shove, this list alone should be a HUGE eyeopener. Since it takes survivors decades to come forward (and we know that MD treats survivors like sh*t), I would not be surprised is there is a trove of predators working at the school in 2000s and 2010s who have yet to be exposed.