December 6, 2005

SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

The following is a partial list of accused priests that have been convicted, accused or suspected of molesting children and have either allegedly traveled and/or abused in Mexico:

Aguilar Rivera, Nicolas

Rivera fled to Mexico when U.S. warrant was issued for his arrest in 1998.

Los Angeles Cardinal Mahony Ignored Warnings 4/30/04 Los Angeles (AP) "A 1987 letter from a Mexican bishop telling Cardinal Roger Mahony about a visiting priest's "...problems" went unheeded, allowing the priest to allegedly molest 26 boys in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, according to attorneys. The attorneys, who represent alleged victims of sexual abuse, charge that Mahony assigned Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera to work in Los Angeles parishes in 1987 despite at least one warning from Bishop Norberto Rivera of Tecuacan, Mexico.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/30/state0502EDT0033.DTL

Avila Avelar, Heladio

He was accused of sexually abusing three boys in 1996, Avelar admitted to the charges and was sent to a rehabilitation center. http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Baker, Michael

Baker told LA Cardinal Roger Mahony in 1986 that he molested young boys but was reassigned to parishes and allegedly continued his sexual abuse of minors for more than a decade, documents and interviews show. Mahony later approved a secret $1.3 million payment to two men who said they had been abused by the priest, Fr. Michael Stephen Baker, from 1984 to 1999. The cardinal arranged for the priest to quietly retire from the archdiocese in 2000.
http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/013103/013103d.htm

Cabot, Samuel (Sam)

Spent a lot of time at an orphanage in Mexico and ultimately allegedly brought a young girl back to the states and abused her between the ages of 5-10. He is currently accused of molestation in a civil lawsuit.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/db_by_diocese_2.html

Camacho Baruqui, Manuel Esteban

He was accused of raping a young boy in 2001.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Castro, Willebaldo

The Rev. Willebaldo Castro was made associate at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Santa Maria in January 1976, just four months after he was accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy, according to the documents. Castro, who left the archdiocese and returned to his native Mexico in 1980, also faces a lawsuit alleging he molested a minor at St. Mary's in 1977.
http://www.canadasexnews.com/news/node/5

Cervantes Gallardo, Alejandro

Four minors from Aguascalientes accused him of sexual abuse. He was charged with corruption of minors and for lewd acts with a minor under 16. http://www.rcadena.net/escandalo.htm

Chavez Mendoza, Geronimo

Convicted of raping a boy in 1997 and was sent prison.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Cimmarrusti, Mario

Accused of abusing 12 children based on Los Angeles Diocean report.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/list_of_accused_priests.htm

Coria Mendoza, Salvador

Mendoza, who was about to be ordained, was transferred in July 2002 after being accused of propositioning a 17-year-old boy. The complaint was first filed in June 2001, six months after the incident is said to have occurred. The boy's family claims they reported the abuse to a priest and a bishop, who blocked Coria's ordination, but took no further action. Eventually the family reported the complaint to the Attorney General's office, and charges were filed against Coria.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Daley, Wallace John

Daley is accused of child molestation in a civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.
http://www.kiesellaw.com/active/case_clergy_list.php

De Maria y Camps Lopez, Jose Luis

He is accused of abusing 3 minors in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico and was charged with corruption of minors. His case has been sent to the Vatican with a recommendation for him to be defrocked.
http://www.proceso.com.mx/archivocomint.html?nid=31421

Dominguez, Jesse

A support group for clergy abuse victims is asking a Catholic bishop to turn over personnel files of a convicted abusive priest to law enforcement and use public announcements to help police track him down and extradite him from Mexico, where prosecutors believe he has fled. (Press-Enterprise, article, 2/1/05). The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), is wrote San Bernardino Bishop Gerald Barnes to publicly urge anyone who experienced or witnessed sex crimes by Fr. Jesse Dominguez, either in California or Mexico, to come forward and contact to criminal authorities. Barnes has been unwilling to release Dominguez' personnel records to local prosecutors. He claims he's afraid Dominguez will sue him for privacy violations (Press-Enterprise article, 3/8/05).

García, Peter (Pedro)

Accused of child molestation in civil lawsuit against the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
http://www.kiesellaw.com/active/case_clergy_list.php

García, Richard Francis (Ricardo Francisco)

Accused of child molestation in the Los Angeles Archdiocesan report. Civil child sex abuse suit pending.
http://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archive/abuseoct28.html

Gaudencio Hidalgo, Edgar

In September 2002, Hidalgo was arrested in Mexico City and extradited to Italy where he was wanted since November 1999. Hidalgo is charged with abusing several minors.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Jaramillo, Luis

Accused of child molestation in pending civil lawsuit against the Los Angeles Archdiocese
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/db_by_name_2.html

Kane, Thomas A.

The Rev. Thomas A. Kane, who left the Catholic Diocese of Worcester in 1993 after he was accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy, has spent the past five years as director of an international training institute for teachers in Guadalajara, Mexico.
http://www.telegram.com/static/crisisinthechurch/020702.html

Lenihan, John

Lenihan, an Orange County priest has admitted to molesting two teenagers and having multiple affairs, has agreed to ask Pope John Paul II to remove him from the priesthood, church officials announced Thursday. Lenihan visited orphanages in Mexico http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/Calif_News_BackPage_4.htm

Loomis, Richard (Ricardo)

Two weeks ago, Msgr. Richard A. Loomis, pastor at Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua parish in San Marino, was one of 11 priests referred to by the archdiocese as priests remaining "in active service because there is a lack of sufficient or credible evidence to remove them from ministry." When a second allegation against Loomis subsequently surfaced, he was placed on administrative leave. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_17_40/ai_114009611

López, Joseph (José)

Accused of molesting at least one youth according to Los Angeles Archdiocesan report.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/list_of_accused_priests.htm

Maciel Degollado, Marcial

After decades of silence, nine men have come forward to accuse the head of an international Roman Catholic order of sexually abusing them when they were boys and young men training to be priests. The men, in interviews in the US and Mexico, said the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, molested them in Spain and Italy during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Those making the allegations include a priest, guidance counselor, professor, engineer and lawyer. Two highly respected journalists, Jerald Renner & Jason Berry, have written a book about the case against Maciel called “Vows of Silence.” http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:tOh2jKZtJkcJ:users2.ev1.
net/~origins/legionaires/macielpart3.pdf+marcial+maciel+delgollado&hl=en

Mandujano Tinajero, Jose Antonio

Tinajero raped the adolescent daughter of a church worker, who had his child in March of 2002.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Martínez, Daniel

Accused of abuse in civil lawsuit.
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:25jzwFz4eNoJ:kbla.com/
files/index.php%3Ffid%3D11+Fr.+Ruben+Martinez+priest+abuse&hl=en

Martínez, Rubén

Martinez faces accusation of child sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
http://www.kiesellaw.com/active/case_clergy_list.php

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:25jzwFz4eNoJ:kbla.com/files/
index.php%3Ffid%3D11+Fr.+Ruben+Martinez+priest+abuse&hl=en

Mateos, Francisco

Accused of molesting at least one child in a civil sex abuse lawsuit pending against the Los Angeles Archdiocese
http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/list_of_accused_priests.htm

Méndez, José

Mendez is listed as a priest accused of child molestation in the LA Archdiocesan report.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/list_of_accused_priests.htm

Orellana Mendoza, Samuel

Orellana is reportedly one of at least ten accused Los Angeles priests still on active ministry, each of whom denied the allegations personally or through an attorney. Orellana is working today at Presentation of Mary Catholic Church in LA. He is accused of child molestation in a pending civil lawsuit. http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/ten_priests_still_onjob.htm

Peralta, Carlos

Salesian priest from South America allegedly abused four boys in Chicago in late 1990s, according to lawsuit. Priest now in Mexico.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-11-10-accused-list_x.htm

Pérez, Henry (Enrique)

Indicted in 2003 and sued in 1993 for alleged abuse. Perez was accused of sexual abuse when he was a priest serving in Arizona. He was removed in 1991 when officials in his new California diocese became aware of the prior allegations. Perez now works as a priest in the Anglican Catholic Church, where he celebrates Mass weekly. (AP 6/2/03)
http://www.survivorsfirst.org/dbbystate.a-l.html

Piña, Joseph (José)

Pina was accused of abusing a 14-year-old girl and currently facing charges in a civil lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Archdiocese. http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Ramos, Eleuterio

In one case, the Rev. Eleuterio Ramos, who admitted to the police in 2003 that he had molested at least 25 boys, including involvement in the gang-rape of a boy in a San Diego hotel room in 1984, was transferred in 1985 to a parish in Tijuana, Mexico, where the Orange County Diocese continued to send him a monthly paycheck and pay his car expenses. The Tijuana Diocese was not informed of the full extent of the priest's abuses, according to the documents. Father Ramos died last year. http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/documents_show_coverup.htm

Romero Yáñez, Leopoldo

He was detained in Tamazula, Jalisco Mexico for pedophilia.
http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=149786

Rodriguez, Carlos Rene

Rodriguez, 48, pleaded guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to three counts of molestation involving two boys in Santa Paula, California. The acts took place between 1988 and 1993, when the then-priest was living at a Catholic retreat in Santa Barbara and working for about two years as a regional consultant with an Archdiocese of Los Angeles family life office. Rodriguez reportedly met the boys' parents through a marriage encounter program. Rodriguez originally denied the charges against him. As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, two additional sex abuse charges against him were dropped. Rodriguez, was sentence to 8 years and eight months in prison where he is today. www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/sp/article/0,1375,VCS_170_2648910,00.html

Salazar, John (Juan)

Salazar was convicted of molesting children in 1988 and served nearly three years of a six-year prison sentence. While on parole, he was hired by the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, where he worked for 11 years.

Salazar was sentenced to life in prison on July 6, 2005 for sexually assaulting a then-18-year-old parishioner after a wedding party in Irving in 2003. John Salazar, former pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulia, was sentenced under a law that imposes an automatic life sentence for a second conviction of felony sexual assault.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ca-la/mahony-2002-11.htm

Santillan, John

Denies allegation he sexually abused an altar boy in 1970s, police are investigating; he was sent to Bolivia but died in Spain. He used to visit a parish and seminary house run by the Calasanzian (Piarist) Order in Ensenada, Mexico.
http://www.natcath.com/crisis/083002k.htm

Simón Silva Flores, Fidencio

After an investigation that took nearly a year, prosecutors are sought an arrest warrant for Father Fidencio Silva, 53, who served at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Oxnard, CA from 1978 to 1986. They planned to start extradition proceedings when they located Silva, who as recently as 2002 was serving at a church in Mexico. However the case was later dismissed because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that overruled California’s criminal statute of limitations that released hundreds of admitted, convicted and charged molesters in the State of California. Silva denied the accusations and is reportedly serving with religious order in Mexico. Mexico)

A lawsuit has been filed by eight men, including two corporate executives, an attorney and two police officers. They were altar boys, 11 to 15 years old at the time, who helped Silva at services, according to a spokesman for the district attorney's office.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ca-la/mahony-2003-03-b.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-11-10-accused-list_x.htm

Theodore Murr Letourveau, Charles (Charly)

Has been accused of sexual abuse at the orphanage he works at, Casa Hogar Francisco Javier in Tepatitlan, Jalisco Mexico. http://www.proceso.com.mex/archivocomint.html?nid=35242

Valenzuela Cervantes, Felipe

He was detained in Los Mochis, Sinaloa Mexico for pedophilia.

http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=149786

Velasquez, Francisco Antonio

Velasquez is accused of raping three young boys of the same family in 1991. The parents of the boys were ashamed and did not want the cases to come to trial.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/spanish/SexAbuseChart.htm

Vetter, Henry

Accused of molesting at least 7 youths according to Los Archdiocesan Report.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/calif/list_of_accused_priests.htm

Villa Gómez, Nemorio

Además del sacerdote Nicolás Aguilar Rivera, quien abusó de 86 niños en Estados Unidos y México, están los casos de los presbíteros Fidencio Simón Silva Flores, Willebaldo Castro, Wallace John Daley y Nemorio Villa Gómez, enviados a México aun cuando pesaban en su contra acusaciones de pederastia.
http://noticias.mx.yahoo.com/051120/26/1jvty.html

Widera, Sigfried

Widera plunged to his death from a Mexican hotel balcony, former priest Sigfried Widera left behind two letters of apology - and accusers who say they will never receive the closure that would have come from seeing him brought to trial on sex abuse charges. Widera, who was charged with 42 counts of child molestation in Wisconsin and California, had been on the run for more than a year before slipping across the border. Mexican authorities had ordered his arrest and planned to extradite him to the United States.
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46&aid=35573

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WAS ABUSED BY CLERGY, COME FORWARD AND GET HELP. Please know that you are not alone and are not to be blamed for the crimes committed against you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Eric Barragan, SNAP Mexico Regional Director 805-207-7424 or [email protected]

Joaquin Aguilar of Mexico City, SNAP Leader 044-55-2030-6352 and 1-888-762-7767

Mary Grant, SNAP Western Regional Director 626 419-2930 or [email protected]