Archdiocese of Los Angeles Accused Priests

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has made headlines for the child sex abuse allegations and settlements it has paid out. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles includes the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. As the country’s most populous diocese, with more than 3 million parishioners, the archdiocese has been hit with numerous lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by priests. Since 2002, around 1,000 people have brought civil lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church based on child sexual abuse claims in California.

In 2006, the archdiocese paid a $60 million settlement to settle 46 civil lawsuits based on priest sexual abuse. In 2007, the archdiocese paid to settle around $660 million to 508 victims of child sexual abuse in one of the largest child sexual abuse settlements in the United States. The claims alleged abuse that began in the 1940s. The agreement settled all pending pedophilia lawsuits, and it prevented then-Cardinal Roger Mahoney from having to testify about how the church handled sexual abuse allegations between 1940 and the 1990s.

In 2014, the archdiocese settled a final group of 17 civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse amounting to $13 million. Eleven of the lawsuits alleged abuse by a predator priest who later fled to his home country of Mexico. Prompting the settlement was a court order requiring the archdiocese to release files showing that it had engaged in a major cover-up, which included ordering church officials not to turn over names of altar boys being investigated by police in relation to the abuse allegations.

In November 2018, the archdiocese released a list of clergy that it deemed had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. The list included a total of 296 clergy members.

In January 2020, the archdiocese settled a child sexual abuse case involving allegations of a former priest for $1.9 million. The lawsuit alleged that priest Lawrence Lovell, who was convicted in 2003 of child molestation and sentenced to 14 years in prison, molested an altar boy from 1982 to 1984 while serving at the San Gabriel Mission Church. Lovell was one of seven priests to be indicted on sex abuse charges in Maricopa County on charges of sex abuse.

According to the civil lawsuit, the victim reported Lovell’s abuse about six years after it started. The church paid for six months of counseling for the victim before he was placed in a hospital for suicide prevention treatment. Unknown at the time was the fact that, in 1986, Lovell had been convicted of sexually molesting a 14-year-old boy while he was assigned to a parish in Los Angeles. The church removed him from the ministry and put him on three years of probation. Lovell was allowed to continue serving as a priest, and he was later assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Prescott, Arizona. In 2003, he was indicted on sexual abuse charges while serving there. Lovell’s case is just one of many cases in which predator priests were moved from parish to parish, given counseling, and deemed fit to continue working as priests despite that they continued their pedophiliac conduct.

Whether you or a loved one experienced child sexual abuse recently or decades ago, you may be able to pursue legal action in California today. Since California enacted its new statute of limitations and lookback window, many victims have come forward, telling their stories and fighting for justice. The lookback window allows victims to file a civil claim against the perpetrator and the institution that allowed the abuse, no matter how old they are or how long ago the abuse happened. However, the deadline to file a claim is on January 1, 2023.

No one should have to go through the horrifying experience of child sexual abuse. Our legal team at Herman Law is ready to fight for your rights. Contact us today to learn about how we can help you and receive a free case evaluation.