Cleric is one of nine predator priests at just one local parish
He worked at six locations in Sacramento area over 25 years
Like at least five other child molesting clerics, he fled to Mexico
Victim will speak about his pain, reveal his name & beg others to act
WHAT
Holding a large poster at a news conference, a bilingual Hispanic man who was an altar boy will
-- publicly identify himself as a clergy child sex abuse victim,
-- announce the filing of his lawsuit against local Catholic officials, and
He will also urge others to
-- take advantage of a new state law that helps victims expose child molesters in court and
-- “not suffer in silence” as he has done for so many years and to file reports with California’s attorney general if they “saw, suspected or suffered” crimes or cover ups in any Catholic diocese or other church.
WHEN
Monday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE
The Law Offices of Joseph C. George, Ph.D., 601 University Avenue, Suite 230, Sacramento, CA
WHO
A Sacramento man who was victimized as a child and his attorney, who is also a psychologist and who has represented hundreds of child sex abuse victims.
VISUALS
Participants in the event will hold two large posters. One lists the six towns where the predator worked. The other lists the nine predators who worked at one local parish. And they will and hand out copies of the new lawsuit
WHY
Gilbert Damian, then 10 years old, first met Fr. Jorge Moreno at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church in Sacramento. The priest sexually abused the young boy in both Sacramento and in Hawaii.
Fr. Moreno is one of nine priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse who worked at Holy Rosary in Woodland. The other Holy Rosary predator priests are John Dowling (1947-1950), Pablo Cortes (1971-1973), Edward Boyle (1972-1974), William Hold (1977-1979), Francisco Javier Garcia (1985-1991), Malachy Conway (1998-1996), Rodolfo Delgado (1991-1992), and Uriel Ojeda (2007-2009).
https://www.kcra.com/article/9-named-in-sex-abuse-list-worked-at-one-woodland-church/27337914
“It’s astonishing that one group of parishioners were subjected to this many child molesting clerics,” said Dr. Joseph C. George, Damian’s attorney. “We suspect that many victims in Woodland are still trapped in shame and self-blame and hope they get help.”
Fr. Moreno is also one of five Hispanic priests who fled to Mexico following allegations of child sexual abuse. The others are Jose Urbina (fled in 1989), Jose Antonio Pinal (fled in 1989), and Gerardo Beltran Rico (fled in 1991), and Francisco Javier Garcia (fled in 1995) 1995). https://www.scd.org/clergyabuse/list/jorge-moreno
“It is hard to believe that these dangerous criminals successfully escaped our criminal justice system on their own,” said Dr. George. “Five fugitives who were familiar with each other flee within six years, which raises questions about how this was possible.”
Fr. Moreno died in 2014 in Mexico. Besides Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sacramento (1970-1986) and Holy Rosary in Woodland (1994-1995), he also worked at St. Basil in Vallejo (1984-1986), St. John the Baptist in Chico (1986-1990), St. Peter in Dixon (1991-1994) and St. Mary in Vacaville (1994).
In April, the Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto released a list of ‘credibly accused’ abusive clerics. Fr. Moreno was on the list with two known victims of sodomy who were under the age of 14.
https://www.scd.org/clergyabuse/list
In September, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 218. Commonly called a “civil window,” the law provides a three-year window (January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022) for anyone (regardless of their age) who was molested as a child in to use the court system to expose those who committed and concealed the crimes, regardless of when the crimes were committed.
It’s expected to result in hundreds of civil child sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits against California institutions and employers, and expose hundreds of predators who have been ‘under the radar.’
On October 13th, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed that measure into law.
In addition, it also extends the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual assault, allowing survivors up to their 40th birthday (formerly their 26th birthday), or within five years (formerly three years) from the date of discovery of an adult psychological injury caused by the childhood sexual assault.
To report clergy sex crimes and cover-ups to the California attorney general’s office, see https://oag.ca.gov/clergyabuse
CONTACT
Dr. Joseph C. George (916) 641-7300; (916) 802-7949 (cell), jcg@psyclaw.com (email)
Maricar A. Pascual (916) 641-7300; (707) 342-4722 (cell), maricar@psyclaw.com (email)
