Our legal team of compassionate professionals has empowered hundreds of abuse survivors to come forward with claims against individuals and related entities. We are ready to help you or your loved one achieve justice for what happened within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.
LEGACY OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND HARASSMENT
In California, cases of abuse have been raised in all 11 Catholic Diocese. Several of these Dioceses have created victim compensation funds in an effort to heal and move beyond the allegations of systemic abuse.
Here are lists of credibly accused priests in the Diocese of Orange:
- Diocese of Orange Accused Priests (Orange County, California) from Bishops Accountability (see below)
Perpetrators of alleged sexual harassment and assault in the Diocese of Orange may include:
Ordained: 1982
Fr. Andersen was convicted in 1986 of molesting four altar boys while he was assigned to St. Bonaventure Church in Huntington Beach, CA. Although he was facing up to 50+ years in prison, Andersen was sentenced to 5 years probation and rehab/counseling at the church ran rehab center, Servants of Paracletes in New Mexico. He was arrested again in 1990 for abusing another youth. Sentenced to prison for six years. The church laicized him in the 90’s after he was incarcerated.
Ordained: 1963
Priest from the Archdiocese of Capiz, Philippines; Aranda moved to the U. S. in 1975. While in the U.S., he worked as a priest in the Diocese of Orange, CA and the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, TX. He died in 1996. Allegations made against Aranda for sexual abuse were deemed credible by the diocese of Orange. Aranda was the subject of a $1.55 million settlement against the diocese in 2005.
Order: OSM – Order of Friar Servants of Mary, Servites
Atherton worked in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA) and Diocese of Orange. Per ADLA’s 2004 report on priests accused of sexual abuse, Atherton was accused of abuse by five different people between the years 1967-1986. Sued in 1993 by men who claimed Atherton abused them when they were youths in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Read more in the "
Report to the People of God: Clergy Sexual Abuse Archdiocese of Los Angeles."
Order: CPPS – Society of the Precious Blood/Missionaries of the Precious Blood
Ordained: 1969
Although he was a longtime spokesman for the diocese, Fr. Baird’s career was not without controversy. In 2002, a woman accused Baird of abusing her when she was a teenager when she sought him for advice after she was molested by another priest. Baird sued the woman for slander, his suit was swiftly dismissed, and he was ordered to pay her attorney fees. Baird continued in active ministry until he retired in 2017.
Ordained: 1963
Transferred from Orange diocese to Baker, OR diocese in 1984 after abuse allegations emerged in California. Diocese of Orange removed Buckman from ministry in 2002. Buckman was one of several priests named in a multi-plaintiff lawsuit in 2005. Settlements against Buckman at that time cost the church a total of around $1 million. Read More in "
Million-Dollar Settlements, Diocese of Orange".
Ordained: 1975
Casimano started at Gallup diocese, but was soon transferred to Diocese of Orange in 1976. He was a Navy chaplain from 1981 – 2000. Moved to Connecticut and incardinated in Norwich, CT diocese in 2000. In 2004, while working as principal of a high school in Connecticut, Casimano was accused by two brothers of abuse when he was at the Orange diocese. Diocese of Orange reached a settlement with the two brothers in 2005. Casimano is on Gallup and Norwich diocese’s list of credibly accused priests.
Ordained: 1965
Now settled civil suit from 2004 alleged Delahunty had molested a boy in 1981. The diocese placed Delahunty on leave pending the investigation. He denied all accusations. Church review board found “no credible evidence” against Delahunty and he returned to ministry later in 2004. Delahunty, along with several other accused priests, petitioned the court to keep their church personnel records secret. He remained in active ministry since 2004; retired in 2016.
Ordained: 1945
Fr. Falvey died in 2005 at age 85. He was Pastor of St. Norbert Church in Orange, Ca. Falvey supervised abusers John Kenney and John Lenihan while at St. Norbert from 1976 – 1989. Named in civil suit filed in 2009, alleging Falvey abused an altar boy in early 1990’s after he retired.
In the 1980’s, Foley admitted to molesting an 8-year-old boy during a camping trip. Then chancellor of Diocese of Orange, Michael Driscoll, wrote to a priest in Liverpool, England pleading for him to take Foley. Things were not looking good for Foley in the US. The boy’s mother threatened to call the police. Facing imprisonment, Foley fled to England in 1986. 2002 civil suit settled with the diocese named Foley as an abuser.
Ordained: 1972
Former principal of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Ca (1978-1987). He resigned as principal of Santa Margarita High School in 1994 after he was accused of sexual abuse. Harris worked in Orange and Los Angeles and is on lists of credibly accused priests of both dioceses.
Order: OFM – Franciscan Friars
Ordained: 1970
Joined the Franciscan Order in Ohio, then moved to California in 1971. Civil lawsuit filed against the church in 2002 alleged that Horvath abused an altar-boy in Mission Viejo, CA in 1972, before the formation of the Diocese of Orange (Orange diocese formed 1976). He was placed on leave and retired when the abuse surfaced in the 2000’s. Horvath is reportedly deceased.
Ordained: 1983
Jimenez was Ordained in Peru and briefly worked in Honduras before arriving to Orange diocese in 1987. He left Diocese of Orange CA for Peru in the early 1990’s. First publicly named by the diocese as a priest accused of sexual abuse in 2004. He was one of 16 priests publicly named in 2004. He is last reported to be working in Peru for the diocese of Chimbote.
Order: OCarm – Carmelite Fathers and Brothers
Ordained: 1970
A former student at Crespi Carmelite High School accused Knoernschild of abusing him in the late 1970’s. Knoernschild was assigned to this school from 1975 – 1985. He was in LA archdiocese before the Orange diocese was established in 1976. Knoernschild reportedly left the diocese in the early 2000’s. He died in 2010. At least one claim against Knoernschild included in multi-million-dollar settlement against the Order and LA archdiocese in 2006.
Ordained: 1969
Originally from Ireland. In 1991, Lenihan admitted to church officials that he had sexually abused a teenage girl in the 1970’s. The church allowed him to continue to work in the diocese after they paid $25K to settle the abuse lawsuit. In 2001, Lenihan was accused in another lawsuit of abusing another teenage girl for several years starting in the late 1970’s. He was removed from the priesthood in 2001. Read more in "
Diocese of Orange Documents: John Lenihan (Redacted)."
Ordained: 1983
Priest at St. Columban Church in Garden Grove, CA. He worked there for 6 years before dying of AIDS in 1989. Civil suit filed in 2003 named Fr. Lord as an abuser. This claim was settled with the diocese in 2005.
Order: OFM – Franciscan Friars
Ordained: 1953
Lawsuit filed in 2009 by a man alleging that priests, Gus Krumm and Alexander Manville, abused him in the 1990’s. Manville was retired and still residing in the parish at the time this lawsuit was filed. Plaintiff’s brother joined the suit in 2011, also alleging abuse by both priests in the 90’s. The diocese settled this case in 2011. Manville died in 2016.
Ordained: 1935
Accused in 2018 lawsuit by a man who claimed Mohan sexually abused him at St. Anthony’s in Anaheim, CA when he was a child in the late 1970’s when Mohan was in residence at the boy’s parish. Mohan was a priest from Chicago who retired to California. He died in 2002. Mohan in named in LA archdiocese’s 2018 list of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse. 2018 report notes incidents involving Mohan in 1974 or 1974 and 1978-1980. Read more in "
Report to the People of God List of Priests Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Minors: 2018 Update".
Ordained: 1995
The Diocese of Orange sent Nguyen to Idaho in 2002 after they discovered he had a sexual relationship with a woman. He was sent back to Orange diocese after a repairman found child pornography on Nguyen’s computer at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Twin Falls, ID. The diocese placed Nguyen on leave. Police in Idaho determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge Nguyen with a crime. The church suspended Nguyen from ministry.
Ordained: 1979
A Former Catholic priest filed a civil lawsuit in 2009 alleging Fr. Pillon molested him in the early 1980’s. Pillon was removed from ministry by the Diocese of Peoria, IL, where he was working, at the time of this accusation. Pillon worked in the Diocese of Orange throughout the 80’s; he was incardinated into the Diocese of Peoria in 1993. Pillon also worked in Charlotte, NC in the late 1990’s. He is on both Peoria and Charlotte diocese’s list of credibly accused priests. Read more in "
Gordon Pillon Assignments Peoria".
Ordained: 1980
Lawsuit filed in 2019 alleges Peottgen molested a male minor while assigned to St. Polycarp Church in Stanton, CA in 1994. The boy attended the parish school. The diocese claimed to have put Peottgen on administrative leave when they heard this allegation. Although, in early 2020 an attorney representing Peottgen’s accuser told media that during deposition, Poettgen told him he was still in active ministry. Read more in "
Man alleging molestation by a priest says Diocese of Orange officials tried to intimidate him".
Ordained: 1982
Lawsuit filed in 2009 by a man who alleged Ramaekers and other priests abused him when he was a minor in 1986, when Ramaekers was a priest at St. Justin Martyr in Anaheim, CA. Ramaekers denied these allegations, diocesan review board found no credible evidence to support the allegation, Ramaekers was allowed to continue ministry.
Order: OAR – Augustinian Recollects
Ordained: 2003
The former church youth director was arrested in 2008 for taking a teenage boy to a motel and trying to grope him. The Augustinian Recollects bailed Ramirez out of jail. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and admitted to inappropriately touching the youth. Ramirez spent six months in jail and sentenced to three years’ probation. Priest privileges removed after arrest/jail.
Order: CM – Vincentians / Congregation of the Mission
Ordained: 1964
Vincentian priest incardinated into the Diocese of Orange in 1983. There are several allegations of abuse against Ruhl. Accused of abusing three minors in the timeframe of 1970-1982. He is included in Orange diocese’s list of sexual abuser priests. Ruhl died in 2018. Read more in "
Vincentian List". Read more in "
Clergy File: John Ruhl".
Ordained: 1943
Originally from Ireland, Moloney entered the San Diego Diocese in 1946. He was a pastor in Southern California until his death in 1986. A civil suit was filed against the Diocese by a man in 2003 alleging that Moloney molested him at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Riverside, CA in 1963. San Diego Diocese released Moloney’s personnel file to the public in 2010.
Montagna was publicly named as an accused sex abuser by the San Diego Diocese in 2018. He is accused of molesting two girls. Montagna worked in the Diocese for three years (1972-1975). Not much is known about Montagna, he is thought to be deceased.
Rev. Robert Daniel Nikliborc
Ordained:1955
Nikilborc was a priest in the San Diego Diocese from 1955-2001. According to his assignment history, he began working again in 2002 at St. Anne parish in San Diego until he retired for the final time in 2005.
He was sued in in 2005; accused of abusing an 11-year-old boy at Boys Town of the Desert, which was a residential-care facility for troubled/at risk boys located in Banning, CA. Nikilborc was assigned to Boys Town of the Desert from 1957-1969. He spent time at the Servants of the Paraclete, the Catholic Church’s former rehab center for pedophile priests, in Jemez Springs, NM in 1956. He went to jail for 97 days when he was convicted of tax evasion in 1968. Nikilborc died in 2006.
Ordained: 1969
Originally ordained in the Santa Rosa Diocese, Polizzi transferred to the Diocese of San Diego in 1970. He was suspended from the priesthood in 1996 after a hospitalized teenager told hospital staff that he had been abused by a priest. The hospital reported this allegation to CPS, the Diocese, and the police. No criminal charges were pursued. The Diocese permanently removed Polizzi from ministry in 1997. Polizzi died in 2003. He is named in both the San Diego and Santa Rosa Dioceses’ list of credibly accused priests.
Ordained: 1936
Originally from Austria, Robier began working in the San Diego Diocese in 1955. He spent time at the Servants of the Paraclete, the Catholic Church’s former rehab center for pedophile priests, in Jemez Springs, NM in 1957. Robier died in 1994.
Several civil lawsuits were filed against the Diocese in 2003 regarding sexual misconduct by Robier. A serial abuser, Robier was accused of abuse, including rape, of as many as 24 girls during the late 1950’s- early 1960’s. Claims settled in 2007 as part of a multimillion-dollar settlement against the Diocese. Robier’s personnel file was released to the public by the Diocese in 2010.
Ordained: 1962
One of the most prolific abusers in the Diocese, Rodrigue admitted to sexually abusing 150 children. Rodrigue has a criminal record for molesting boys. He was placed on probation in 1979 when he pleaded no contest in the sexual assault of a boy. Despite being an admitted child abuser, Rodrigue remained a priest until the church removed Rodrigue from the priesthood in 1992.
In 1997, Rodrigue was arrested for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy at an apartment complex where the former priest worked as a janitor. Rodrigue pleaded guilty to this and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2006 and died in 2009. Several civil suits filed against the diocese since 2003 by people who were abused by Rodrigue when they were children. Rodrigue is named in the San Diego/ San Bernardino list of credibly accused priests.
Ordained: 1993
Police and FBI investigated Salazar on charges that he downloaded child pornography while he was a priest at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Santa Ana, CA. He was reported to police in 2001 by a lay employee who found the graphic images on a laptop that was owned by Salazar. Santa Ana PD found about 100 illegal images on the computer. Diocese of Orange 2016 report on accused priests lists Salazar as laicized.
Ordained: 1960
Accused of abuse of four youths in the early 1960’s. Civil lawsuit filed in 2003 alleged that be abused three youths during that time. Sheahan went on medical retirement after he had brain surgery in the early 1970’s.
Ordained: 1962
Moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1986, Tanilong was incardinated into the diocese of Orange in 1990. Tanilong was arrested in 2003 after a teenage girl told police he had molested her. He plead guilty in ’04; sentenced to 6 months in jail and three years’ probation. Diocese removed him from ministry.
Ordained: 1943
Originally from Ireland, Moloney entered the San Diego Diocese in 1946. He was a pastor in Southern California until his death in 1986. A civil suit was filed against the Diocese by a man in 2003 alleging that Moloney molested him at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Riverside, CA in 1963. San Diego Diocese released Moloney’s personnel file to the public in 2010.
Montagna was publicly named as an accused sex abuser by the San Diego Diocese in 2018. He is accused of molesting two girls. Montagna worked in the Diocese for three years (1972-1975). Not much is known about Montagna, he is thought to be deceased.
Rev. Robert Daniel Nikliborc
Ordained:1955
Nikilborc was a priest in the San Diego Diocese from 1955-2001. According to his assignment history, he began working again in 2002 at St. Anne parish in San Diego until he retired for the final time in 2005.
He was sued in in 2005; accused of abusing an 11-year-old boy at Boys Town of the Desert, which was a residential-care facility for troubled/at risk boys located in Banning, CA. Nikilborc was assigned to Boys Town of the Desert from 1957-1969. He spent time at the Servants of the Paraclete, the Catholic Church’s former rehab center for pedophile priests, in Jemez Springs, NM in 1956. He went to jail for 97 days when he was convicted of tax evasion in 1968. Nikilborc died in 2006.
Ordained: 1969
Originally ordained in the Santa Rosa Diocese, Polizzi transferred to the Diocese of San Diego in 1970. He was suspended from the priesthood in 1996 after a hospitalized teenager told hospital staff that he had been abused by a priest. The hospital reported this allegation to CPS, the Diocese, and the police. No criminal charges were pursued. The Diocese permanently removed Polizzi from ministry in 1997. Polizzi died in 2003. He is named in both the San Diego and Santa Rosa Dioceses’ list of credibly accused priests.
Ordained: 1936
Originally from Austria, Robier began working in the San Diego Diocese in 1955. He spent time at the Servants of the Paraclete, the Catholic Church’s former rehab center for pedophile priests, in Jemez Springs, NM in 1957. Robier died in 1994.
Several civil lawsuits were filed against the Diocese in 2003 regarding sexual misconduct by Robier. A serial abuser, Robier was accused of abuse, including rape, of as many as 24 girls during the late 1950’s- early 1960’s. Claims settled in 2007 as part of a multimillion-dollar settlement against the Diocese. Robier’s personnel file was released to the public by the Diocese in 2010.
Ordained: 1962
One of the most prolific abusers in the Diocese, Rodrigue admitted to sexually abusing 150 children. Rodrigue has a criminal record for molesting boys. He was placed on probation in 1979 when he pleaded no contest in the sexual assault of a boy. Despite being an admitted child abuser, Rodrigue remained a priest until the church removed Rodrigue from the priesthood in 1992.
In 1997, Rodrigue was arrested for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy at an apartment complex where the former priest worked as a janitor. Rodrigue pleaded guilty to this and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2006 and died in 2009. Several civil suits filed against the diocese since 2003 by people who were abused by Rodrigue when they were children. Rodrigue is named in the San Diego/ San Bernardino list of credibly accused priests.
If you or someone you know are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego/San Bernardino, we can help you file a claim. We will fight for the justice you deserve.
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