The Worthy Adversary

Tag: Archdiocese of los angeles

LA clergy sex abuse files to be made public by end of year, judge says

Today, LA judge Emilie Elias gave the Archdiocese of Los Angeles a concrete schedule for the public release of thousands of pages of sex abuse and cover-up documents. If all goes according to plan, the redacted files on perpetrator priests will be made public by the end of the year.

The documents were a part of the 2007, $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of child sexual abuse. More than 200 predator clerics were named as abusers. Lawyers for the Archdiocese and accused priests have spent the past five years (and who knows how much money at $600/hr) to keep the files secret.

Bad days in store for Cardinal Mahony

In other dioceses (like Orange and Wilmington, DE, to name a few), similar files have shown the severe damage caused by many current and former clerics, and also show how complicit church officials ignored public safety and recklessly put children in harm’s way.

The next hearing on the document release will be on December 10. At that time, lawyers for accused (and dead) clerics will have the opportunity to file objections. Hopefully, there won’t be any.

In other developments, the secret personnel files of 13 priests were turned over to victims’ attorneys in preparation for the upcoming civil sex abuse trial of “runaway priest” Nicolas Aguilar Rivera. Lawyers for the Archdiocese and accused clerics had fought the release all the way to the California Supreme Court and lost.

October 19, 2012
First Sex Abuse and Coverup Lawsuit Filed Under CA Appeal Ruling
The Archdiocese of LA paid for a victim’s counseling in 2003—but neglected (or refused) to inform her that she had civil rights— even though they had known for years that Fr. Michael Steven Nocita was a predator. Now, he can use the court system to expose former priest and the church officials who covered up for him long before she was even abused.

Esther Miller, who is one of the first victims to expose Nocita, is a brave and strong woman. I admire her greatly and am really proud to stand with her today in support of the new victim.

NEWS EVENT: Lawsuit says Catholic officials misled victims

Santa Fe Springs school is 1st target of new ruling

Woman says church paid for counseling but deceived her

Court decision will expose more predators, SNAP believes

What: Holding signs and photos of themselves when they were abused, child sex abuse victims will announce the first lawsuit filed under a recent, landmark ruling by the California Court of Appeals. The suit charges that:
- A priest sexually abused a girl at a Santa Fe Springs High School
- Church officials knew, years earlier, the cleric was an abuser
- When she reported to church officials, they didn’t tell her she had legal rights, and
- Instead, they gave her counseling to keep her quiet about abuse
Victims will also:
- Demand that church officials reach out to every person who received church-paid counseling in 2003,
- Tell these victims that, under the new court decision, they have new legal options, and
- Urge anyone who saw, suspected or suffered abuse to call law enforcement, not church officials
Where: Outside of St. Paul High School

9635 Greenleaf Avenue (at Los Nietos) in Santa Fe Springs

VICTIMS WILL NOT MEET WITH, DISTURB, OR APPROACH STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL

When: TODAY: Wednesday, September 5 at 11 am

Who: Three to four members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the nation’s largest support group for men and women sexually abused as children in religious and institutional organizations, including an Orange County woman who sued the church in 2003 for sexual abuse by the cleric, Fr. Michael Stephen Nocita.

Why: This week, a California woman filed the first lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court under a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that potentially gives hundreds of victims of child sex crimes and cover-up new rights in the courts.

The decision, handed down in August 2012, says that victims who received counseling from the Catholic church for sexual abuse in 2003 (or any time they had the ability to expose their abuser in the courts) but did not take legal action may now file lawsuits.

In many cases, today’s new suit charges, Catholic officials did not tell victims they had rights, and instead used offers of desperately-needed counseling to deceptively help ensure that victims would not report to law enforcement.

SNAP believes that the ruling and this new lawsuit will offer many victims hope and enable them to expose more child molesting clerics predators whose crimes remain hidden even now.

According to the suit, Fr. Nocita, a notorious predator, sexually violated a young student at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs in the 1980s. Fr. Nocita was a teacher at the school at the time and church officials known for years he had allegedly molested at least one other girl. When Doe went to church officials for report her abuse in 2003, the lawsuit charges, they did not inform her that she had civil rights under California’s landmark civil “window” law – passed in 2002 – which gave victims of child sexual abuse a one year to take action in the courts, no matter when they were abused.

Instead, church officials offered her counseling, the lawsuit says, in the hopes that she would not learn of or pursue action under the new law.

Fr. Nocita has been removed from the priesthood currently lives in southern California. SNAP hopes that this latest lawsuit will encourage victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward to law enforcment.

This is not the first scandal to hit St. Paul High School. In June, a former principal of the school was sentenced to 180 days in jail for stealing $64,000 from the school.

The victim is represented by Pasadena attorney Anthony DeMarco.
September 5, 2012
A Week of Arrests, Investigations and Shameful Responses

This week, three prominent priests have been arrested and/or investigated for sexual abuse:

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles:

Father Luis Jose Cuevas, 67, a pastor of St. Athanasius Church on Linden Avenue, faces eight misdemeanor charges of sexual assault and one felony count involving lewd acts with a child, according to a complaint filed by the L.A. County district attorney’s office. Superior Court Judge James Otto set his bail at $260,000.

and

Santa Monica Police are investigating allegations that Father Rafael Venegas, pastor of St. Anne’s Parish, assaulted an adult woman in the church parking lot last September.

The response from Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez? Nothing. No words of solace for the alleged victims. No words of comfort for confused and scared Catholics. He sent his spokesman instead.

In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia:

Andrew McCormick, 56, has been charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corrupting the morals of a minor, indecent assault and indecent exposure in connection with an alleged 1997 incident, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced Tuesday.

McCormick was one of the 21 priests placed on leave after the 2011 Philadelphia Grand Jury investigation of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is estimated there are more victims.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, who has no problem speaking out for “religious freedom,” is silent when it comes to the pain and suffering the children in his Archdiocese.

Both archbishops should be ashamed of their lack of pastoral leadership in such a painful time for their flock.

You can see the full list of Philadelphia accused priests here or here. Los Angeles’ list can be viewed here or here.

July 28, 2012
A Bittersweet Anniversary

This weekend marks the five-year anniversary of the 2007 Los Angeles Archdiocese’s $660 million settlement with more than 500 victims of child sexual abuse by priests, religious, employees and volunteers. While the financial settlement has allowed many Los Angeles victims to get therapy, healing and a sense of justice, the real reason many of these victims came forward still remains elusive.

To date, the public still has not seen the tens of thousands of pages of sex abuse and cover-up documents. Those are still “stuck in the system,” and the latest ruling by an LA judge will require that all names in the documents be redacted.

Hundreds of former priests are still living unmonitored and unsupervised in communities full of children. Although the LA Archdiocese pays for retirements of many of these men, they refuse to take responsibility for the safety of children around these known predators.

And Cardinal Roger Mahony, who supervised many of these predator clerics? Well, he’s enjoying retirement.

Despite this, we cannot ignore the bravery and tenacity of the Los Angeles victims who fought long and hard – and received more justice than thousands of victims across the nation. Fortunately, the fight for justice is not over.

July 15, 2012
Michael Harris trial is a go …

The Michael Harris trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 18 at 9am. Barring any last-minute settlements, you’ll see me at Dept. CX103, Orange County Supreme Court.

It should be a barn burner. Get ready to see some diocese dirty laundry.

Even Bishop Tod Brown concedes Harris is a monster.

The victim is an active duty Air Force lieutenant colonel and KC-10 pilot who has flown combat mission over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East and Europe.

So, the Diocese of Orange chooses the word of a monster over the word of an active duty war hero — a war hero with everything to lose by coming forward.

I’m speechless.

June 14, 2012