Los Angeles Archdiocese Abuse Files

California Supreme Court: Los Angeles Archdiocese Must Turn Over Abuse Files

In a stunning victory for victims of child sexual abuse, the California Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s order requiring that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles turn over sex abuse and cover-up files about 25 known offending priests.

The files were a part of the 2007, $660 million settlement with more than 500 alleged victims of child sexual abuse by LA Archdiocese employees and volunteers.

The decision, was the last step in the Archdiocese’s long legal battle to keep priest files secret. In Orange County, diocese officials made public abuse and cover-up files on a majority of offending priests and employees less than 5 months after a 2005 settlement with 97 victims.

Evidence in these files are crucial to law enforcement, who can use information to put predators behind bars. For victims, these files are tremendously important to the healing process. When the truth is revealed, victims who were silenced most of their lives are validated. In addition, exposing abuse and cover-up, helps ensure that what happened to them will not happen to another child. Finally, men and women who covered up for abusers will be made publicly accountable.

Hopefully, many victims of abuse in Los Angeles will get a great measure of healing from yesterday’s decision.

Thousands of L.A. Archdiocese priest personnel files

The 25 priests whose files must be turned over include:

1. Michael Buckley

2. Santiago Tamayo

3. Kevin Barmasse

4. Angel Cruces

5. Donald Patrick Roemer

6. Peter Garcia

7. Cristobal Garcia

8. Lawrence Lovell

9. John Salazar

10. Matthew Sprouffske

11. Lynn Cafoe

12. Michael Baker

13. John Dawson

14. Gerald Fessard

15. Michael Wempe

16. Carlos Rene Rodriguez

17. James Ford

18. Richard Allen Henry

19. Michael Nocita

20. Luis Jaramillo

21. George Neville Rucker

22. George Miller

23. Eleuterio Ramos

24. Benjamin Hawkes

25. Fidencio Silva

Search through all L.A. Archdiocese priest personnel files

KPCC’s  Sharon McNary, Frank Stoltze, Zusha Elinson, Joanna Lin, Robert Salladay, Paul Glickman, Chris Keller have produced a searchable database of the Los Angeles priest personnel files that we helped to get released.  The database is well organized and presented in a convenient searchable format.  We want to thank KPCC and the folks at Southern California Public Radio for taking the time to make and maintain this useful and accurate resource.

Fighting for Survivors Rights

The Law Office of Anthony DeMarco believes that by holding institutions like the Los Angeles Archdiocese publicly accountable for the sexual abuse caused by its priests, that future occurrences of abuse may be avoided.  Stopping abuse from happening to innocent children again is one of the main motivations for survivors who come forward with their painful stories.  We proudly join in this fight to stop institutional protections of sexual abuse.

Sexual Abuse Resources

Our website provides a public resource of documents and data that we hope will inform people of problems like the Los Angeles Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal.  We maintain a running list of Southern California based Catholic Priest Sexual Abuse cases.  And we always find ourselves representing new clients who are bravely confronting the Catholic Priests who abused them when they were innocent children.

We welcome you to explore all of our case resources and to contact us with any questions you might have regarding sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Schools, and Youth Organizations like Police Explorer Scout program.

Sexual Abuse Resources
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Anthony DeMarco is a California child molestation attorney in Pasadena, CA.  He has practiced childhood sexual abuse law since 2002 and has been instrumental in exposing sexual abuse scandals in large organizations such as the Catholic Church, School Districts, Youth Sports, and Youth Organizations.