Diocese of Oakland Accused Priests

The Diocese of Oakland has allowed child sexual abuse to happen for decades. Only recently have victims been able to seek justice for the abuse they endured many years ago.

The Diocese of Oakland comprises Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California, serving the San Francisco Bay area. The Diocese named the following priests deemed “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors: Jeffrey N. Acebo, Thomas Duong Binh-Minh, Vincent I. Breen, Donald E. Broderson, Kenneth J. Cabral, James A. Clark, Edmond G. Cloutier, Hilary Cooper, Pearse P. Donovan, Joseph Ferreira, Patrick Finnegan, George J. Francis, George J. Francis, Robert E. Freitas, Stephen M. Kiesle, Ronald J. Lagasse, Hector David Mendoza Vela, Francisco Tarcisio Lanuevo, Daniel McCleod, Robert F. Ponciroli, Arthur A. Ribeiro, and Gary B. Tollner.

In December 2020, the Diocese paid out $3.5 million to settle claims by a former parishioner, who claimed that Priest Michael Van Dinh raped him in 2017. While investigating the allegations, police discovered sex toys and a meth pipe in the priest’s home. Although investigators recommended that police charge the priest with sodomy, authorities declined to bring charges, stating there was insufficient evidence to show the sex was non-consensual. The Diocese placed Dinh on leave.

Dinh’s accuser also claimed that two other priests in the diocese, Luis Lopez and Ricardo Chavez, sexually abused him. According to the lawsuit, while Lopez served as a priest in Oregon in his early twenties, he sexually abused the boy by putting his hands down the victim’s sweatpants. The abuse by Chavez allegedly started when the victim was ten years old and went on for at least ten years.

The victim alleges, while he was an altar boy at St. Peter Martyr Parish in Pittsburg, Chavez abused him by fondling him underneath his clothing. The lawsuit also alleges that other victims reported abuse by Chavez in the 1990s while he was serving as pastor of St. Leander’s Church in San Leandro, but that the Diocese neither investigated the allegations nor disciplined Chavez in any way.

Finally, the lawsuit states that when the Diocese learned in October 2019 of new claims against Chavez, it allowed him to continue performing mass for months. As of 2021, Chavez retired, and Lopez received a new assignment to Corpus Christi Church in Fremont. Dinh, Chavez, and Lopez are three of five priests in the Diocese accused of sexual abuse since 2019.

A fourth priest, John T. McCracken, was also recently accused of sexual abuse. In a lawsuit filed in 2019, the accuser claims that McCracken repeatedly raped him between 1972 and 1974. McCracken was not one of the named priests in the Diocese’s list of child sexual abuse perpetrators, and it’s the first time allegations surfaced against him. McCracken died in 2012.

According to the lawsuit, when the victim was in fourth and fifth grade and serving as an altar boy at Queen of All Saints in Concord, McCracken repeatedly raped him. McCracken allegedly told the victim while he was molesting him that he was “a good boy” and God was “happy” with him. The victim’s medical records showed he received treatment for rectal bleeding when he was 11.

The fifth priest accused of sexual abuse since 2019 is Hector David Mendoza Vela. Vela is serving a prison sentence after pleading no contest in 2019 to five counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.

Though the allegations against these priests made headlines, there are many instances of child sexual abuse that happened in the Diocese of Oakland that likely went unreported. Most child sexual abuse victims do not come forward with their abuse claims until later in life. Many victims repress their memories, feel shame or guilt, fear that people won’t believe them, or believe too much time has passed. However, California law now allows victims to file civil claims regardless of when the abuse happened or their current age.

Now is the time to act. If you or someone you love suffered child sexual abuse at the Diocese of Oakland, contact our compassionate and dedicated lawyers at Herman Law today for a free consultation.