by rain » Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:35 am
7 suing fugitive priest, SR Diocese<br>Sonoma County residents allege Ochoa sexually abused them, church officials were negligent<br><br>By Martin Espinoza<br>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT<br><br>Seven Sonoma County residents are suing fugitive priest Xavier Ochoa and the Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese alleging child sex abuse spanning more than two decades.<br>The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court on behalf of six males and one female now between the ages of 11 and 34, paints a picture of a sexual predator more extreme than previously reported.<br>The allegations include that Ochoa committed oral copulation on an 11-year-old in 2004, touched the genitals of a 5-year-old around 1990 and engaged in anal copulation of a boy beginning in Mexico when the child was 12 and continuing in the United States.<br>A recurring theme in the lawsuit is the contention that Ochoa, who provided spiritual and emotional support to many Latino parishioners, exercised unique authority, influence and power over the victims and their families.<br>Ochoa, who is believed to be in Mexico, is wanted on 10 felony criminal counts involving three victims. The civil lawsuit is the first public confirmation of new allegations involving four additional individuals.<br>Michael Meadows, who along with Santa Rosa attorney Michael Fiumara is representing the alleged victims, said the Santa Rosa Diocese, through Bishop Daniel Walsh and prior bishops, was negligent in supervising Ochoa.<br>The suit alleges that church officials allowed Ochoa unsupervised access to victims, enabling his sexual misconduct. The suit also alleges that church officials failed to conduct a background check of Ochoa before hiring him.<br>"Ochoa meets all the characteristics of a lifetime child molester and we believe that he has a history that goes back to Mexico well before he came to Northern California," Meadows said. "This history would have been readily apparent with even the most minimal investigation."<br>The lawsuit names the Santa Rosa Diocese through Bishop Daniel Walsh.<br>Walsh could not be reached for comment through diocese spokeswoman Deirdre Frontczak. Diocese attorney Dan Galvin said he had not yet seen the lawsuit but noted that it was "not unexpected."<br>"We'll deal with it in the proper channels," he said.<br>The lawsuit is the latest in a series of priest sexual abuse scandals that have cost the Santa Rosa Diocese about $20 million in settlements.<br>In addition, the Sonoma County district attorney is currently considering misdemeanor charges against Walsh and other diocese officials for failing to report Ochoa to law enforcement authorities in a timely manner. Ochoa admitted sexual improprieties to the bishop April 28, but he had left the area by the time church officials notified the Sheriff's Department four days later.<br>Critics say the delay may have given Ochoa time to flee the country and find refuge in Mexico.<br>Tuesday's lawsuit came in the form of two complaints, one naming Ochoa and the diocese on behalf of four people under the age of 26. The second suit, filed on behalf of three people now 26 and older, does not name the defendants.<br>Under California civil procedures, plaintiffs in child sexual abuse cases who are 26 and older when the lawsuit is filed cannot name defendants in court documents until the charges against them can be corroborated.<br>The complaint alleges abuse dating back to approximately 1984, when Ochoa was a priest assigned to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.<br>According to the suit, Ochoa befriended a poor family, encouraging a 12-year-old to become an altar boy. The suit alleges that Ochoa began molesting the boy, now age 34, after six months. The abuse included "genital fondling, oral copulation, and anal copulation. These acts frequently took place in the home of Ochoa, which was attached to the premises of the local church."<br>Two years later, Ochoa convinced the boy's family to give the priest custody of the child and let him bring him to the United States. Similar abuse continued while Ochoa and the boy lived in housing owned and maintained by the diocese, according to the court documents.<br>It wasn't until the victim was in his 20s that he "refused to submit any longer to (Ochoa's) sexual demands," the lawsuit states.<br>Another alleged victim, now 28, alleges in the suit that Ochoa frequently invited him to spend the night at his diocese-owned residence in Sonoma County and routinely served him alcohol and encouraged him to become intoxicated.<br>"On many occasions, (Ochoa) awakened John Doe 2 in the night and subjected him to sexual activity, including genital fondling, oral copulation, and attempted anal copulation," states the lawsuit. "Frequently, (Ochoa) played pornographic videotapes to encourage John Doe 2 to engage in the behaviors depicted in the videotapes."<br>That victim is the brother of at least two other male victims and a female victim named in the lawsuit.<br>One brother, now 27, was sexually molested by Ochoa after a year of serving as an altar boy, according to the lawsuit.<br>Ochoa "brought John Doe 3 to the rectory after a Saturday night mass, so that John Doe 3 could 'rest.' While lying on (Ochoa's) bed in the rectory, (Ochoa) fondled John Doe 3's genitals through his clothing, while asking if it felt good. After about 20 minutes, (Ochoa) brought John Doe 3 back to his parents' home, and spent the evening socializing with the parents of John Doe 3."<br>Interviewed by phone earlier this week, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said that he became accustomed to the abuse and is only now able to fully appreciate it as something that should never have happened.<br>"I got used to it, it's something that you learn and you respect him (Ochoa) as an authority, the main person sent by God," he said. "Now that I look at it with more detail, it's horrible. I'm confused. I should have said something. He also told me once don't tell anyone, when I was really young."<br>The lawsuit states that the victims suffered physical, emotional and mental abuse at the hands of Ochoa and that church officials failed to keep them safe.<br>The suit notes that the mother of one of the victims made several attempts to communicate with Walsh and diocese officials in writing about "suspicious, inappropriate and dangerous conduct" by Ochoa.<br>Church officials, states the lawsuit, "did not undertake any reasonable effort to warn or to educate plaintiffs and their families about the risk of permitting unsupervised contact between Ochoa and plaintiffs."<br>The alleged victims seek unspecified monetary damages.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061011/NEWS/610110302/1033/NEWS01&template=printart">www1.pressdemocrat.com/ap...e=printart</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <p></p><i></i>