Bay Area Releases Names of 34 Clergy Members Accused of Sexual Abuse

A Minnesota-based law firm suing several Bay Area dioceses over clergy sexual abuse has released its own list of 263 accused clergy members, hoping to bring transparency to the investigation into sexual abuse within California's churches, CNN reports.

The list was released by the firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates, currently suing Bay Area dioceses over their handling of sexual abuse cases going back decades. It appears in a public report that accuses the Archdiocese of San Francisco, along with the Dioceses of Oakland and San Jose, of concealing sexual abuse reports and protecting dangerous pedophiles.

The report was released in an attempt to pressure the dioceses for more information on abuse cases. "It is believed that the Bay Area dioceses do not make available to the public the full history, knowledge and context of the sexually abusive clerics," the document reads. "This report is an attempt to compile information already available to the public from various sources in the public media."

Most of the names included in the list have already appeared in print before. Some were disclosed through official Diocese press releases, while others have appeared on BishopAccountability.org or in civil court documents.

The list comes close on the heels of two reports from the Diocese of San Jose and the Diocese of San Bernardino, in which the names of 49 accused clergymen are listed.

San Bernardino Publishes Names Of 34 Clergy

On Monday, October 8, 2018, the Diocese of San Bernardino released a list of 34 priests who have been accused of sexual abuse, including five whose names have never been made public before. Six of the clergy members were convicted on criminal charges.

• Daniel De Dominicis - sexual abuse between 1975 and 1985; reported to Diocese in 1994 and reported to religious order same year; reported to police in 2002; deceased
• Joseph Jablonski - sexual abuse in 2014; reported to Diocese in 2014; reported to police in 2014; permanently banned from the ministry
• Robert Kurilec - sexual abuse in 1970, 1972; reported to Diocese in 1987; reported to police in 2002; permanently banned from the ministry
• Peter McCormick - sexual abuse in 1990; reported to Diocese in 2000; removed from ministry in 2000; reported to police in 2002; permanently banned from ministry
• Dominic Gaioni - sexual abuse in 1993; reported to Diocese in 1993 and suspended the same year; reported to police in 2002; permanently banned from the ministry
• Roberto Barco - sexual abuse between 2009 to 2010; reported to Diocese in 2016; reported to police in 2016; permanently banned from the ministry
• Alex Castillo - sexual abuse in 2009; reported to Diocese in 2010; reported to police in 2010; removed from the priesthood
• Robert Donat - sexual abuse in 1984; reported to Diocese in 2010; reported to police in 2010; faculties removed in 2011; permanently banned from the ministry
• Timothy Keppel - sexual abuse between 1976 and 1979; reported to Diocese in 2012; reported to police in 2012; permanently banned from the ministry
• Louis Perreault - sexual abuse between 1990 and 1992; reported to Diocese in 2011 and reported to police the same year; permanently banned from the ministry
• Gustavo Benson - sexual abuse in 1978 and between 1985 and 1986; reported to Diocese in 1986; arrested in 1987; removed from the priesthood
• Jesus Dominguez - sexual abuse in 1983 and 1988; reported to Diocese in 1988; removed from ministry in 1993; arrested in 2001; removed from the priesthood
• Rudi Gil - sexual abuse in 1987; reported to Diocese in 1987; suspended in 1993; reported to police in 2002; removed from the priesthood
• J. Ernest Hayes - sexual abuse between 1978 and 1983, in 1981 and in 1987; reported to Diocese in 1987; suspended in 1993; reported to police in 2002; removed from the priesthood
• Malachy McGinn - sexual abuse in 1969 and 1981; died in 1997; reported to Diocese in 2002
• Paul Nguyen - sexual abuse in 1993; reported to Diocese in 1993 and suspended the same year; reported to police in 1993; left Diocese in 1993; whereabouts unknown
• Anthony Rodrigue - sexual abuse in 1978; arrested in 1979; removed from ministry in 1983; deceased
• Charles Rourke - sexual abuse in 1979; reported to Diocese in 1979 and removed from the ministry in same year; reported to police in 2006; deceased
• Ed Ball - sexual abuse between 1979 and 1986; reported to Diocese in 1992 and removed from ministry in same year; arrested in 1992; deceased
• Joseph Fertal - sexual abuse in 1995; reported to Diocese in 1995 and suspended the same year; reported to "authorities" 1995; permanently banned from the ministry
• Howard Melzer - sexual abuse between 1976 and 1980; reported to Diocese in 1993; reported to police in 2002; deceased
• John Schmitz - sexual abuse in 1985; told to leave diocese and return to Archdiocese of Dubuque; reported to police in 1985; deceased
• Paul Shanley - sexual abuse in 1990; reported to Diocese in 2002 and reported to the police in the same year; removed from the priesthood
• Bernard Waltos - sexual abuse between 1984 and 1990; reported to Diocese in 1994; deceased prior to 1994
• Fidencio Silva-Flores - sexual abuse between 1979 and 1985, and in 1995; reported to Diocese in 1998; permanently banned from the ministry
• Ponciano Ramos - sexual abuse in 1993; reported to Diocese in 2002 and removed from ministry the same year; permanently banned from the ministry
• Esteban Trujillo - sexual abuse in 1998 and 2001; reported to Diocese in 2002 and removed from the ministry in 2002; permanently banned from the ministry
• Joseph Bell - sexual abuse in the 1960s and 1970s; reported to Diocese in 1985; deceased in 1987; reported to police in 2006
• Ruben Garcia - sexual abuse in 1973; reported to Diocese in 1986; reported to police in 2006; deceased
• John Haberthier - sexual abuse in 1973; reported to Diocese in 2006 and reported to police the same year; deceased
• Terrence Reilly - sexual abuse in 1983; reported to Diocese in 1993; reported to police in 2006; deceased
• James Stauber - sexual abuse in 1970; reported to Diocese in 1993 and removed from ministry the same year; reported to police in 2006; deceased
• Saul Ayala - sexual abuse between 1988 and 1989; reported to diocese in 2002 and removed from the ministry the same year; permanently banned from the ministry
• Michael Bucaro - sexual abuse between 1983 and 1989; reported to Diocese in 2004 and reported to police the same year; permanently banned from the ministry

Note that these are the Diocese's own dates. Some critics have questioned the reliability of these releases.

San Jose Diocese Releases List Of 15 Accused Priests

The San Jose Diocese released its own list on Thursday, October 18, 2018. Clerical officials list the names of 15 former priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. 10 of the priests have already died; the remaining five have been banned from the ministry. Seven of the names, according to Melanie Sakoda of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, had never been publicly named as child abusers.

• Thomas Bettencourt - sexual misconduct with a child while at St. Justin Parish in Santa Clara in 1982; first reported to Diocese in 1997; died in 1990
• Don Flickinger - sexual misconduct with children at St. Fraces Cabrini and Sacred Heart Saratoga Parish between 1990s and early 2000s; reported to Diocese in 2002, 2005 and 2006; permanently banned from the ministry in 2006
• Robert Gray - sexual misconduct with children while at St. Justin Parish between 1991 and 1993; reported and convicted in 1993; permanently banned from ministry in 2002
• Arthur Harrison - sexual misconduct with children at Our Lady of Loretto Parish and St. Frances Cabrini Parish in 1961 and between 1974 and 1976; reported in 1988, 1990 and 2003; permanently banned from ministry in 2002; died in 2006
• Laurent Largente - sexual misconduct with a child while at St. Patrick Cathedral between 1980 and 1983; first reported to Diocese in 1994; permanently banned from ministry in 2002; died in 2015
• Alexander Larkin - sexual misconduct with children while at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish; reported in 2003; permanently banned from ministry in 2009
• Philip McCrillis - sexual misconduct with children while at St. Albert the Great Parish and St. Patrick Seminary between 1968 and 1969; first reported to the Diocese in 2004; permanently banned from the ministry in 2004; died in 2007
• George Moss - sexual misconduct with children while at St. Joseph Parish between 1963 and 1976; reported in 2002, 2004 and 2012; died in 1986
• Leonel Noia - sexual misconduct with children while at St. Patrick Parish during 1970s; reported and convicted in 1976; permanently banned from ministry in 2002; died in 2005
• Joseph Pritchard - sexual misconduct with children while at St. Martin of Tours Parish during the 1970s; reported in 2002 and 2003; died in 1988
• Noel Senevirante - sexual misconduct with a child while at St. Leo the Great School between 1971 and 1972; reported in 2002; permanently banned from ministry in 2002; died in 2009
• Hernan Toro - sexual misconduct with a child while at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in 1983; reported and convicted in 1983; permanently banned from the ministry in 1990
• Joseph Dondero - sexual misconduct with a child while at St. Joseph Parish in the 1960s; first reported to the Diocese in 2002; died in 1997
• Angel Mariano - sexual misconduct while a child in 1998; reported and convicted in 1998; permanently banned from the ministry in 1998; died in 2002
• Phil Sunseri - sexual misconduct with children at St. Christopher Parish and Holy Family Parish in 1986 and 1987; reported in 1987 and 2018; permanently banned from the ministry in 1988

At least two priests on the list, Hernan Toro and Leonel Noia, were returned to active ministry after receiving criminal convictions for sexual abuse, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports. Noia, convicted and imprisoned in 1976, was later assigned to St. Julie Billiart, St. Anthony and Five Wounds Parish in San Jose, California. Convicted in 1983, Toro was subsequently sent on to St. Athanasius in Mountain View, St. Catherine in Morgan Hill and St. Aloysius in Palo Alto.

San Jose Diocese officials say that the list could be added to in the future. They have hired a third-party management firm to conduct an investigation into the church's handling of sexual abuse allegations in which personnel files will be scrutinized.

San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath says that all potential clergy members now undergo background checks and routine training every three years to prevent sexual abuse. "There can no longer be a culture of secrecy in the church," the Bishop said, "but one of transparency and accountability. Our work will not be complete until all of those who have been harmed have received assistance in healing and until the evil of child sexual abuse has been eradicated from society."