Father Robert Daniel Nikliborc
Diocese of San Bernardino
Ordained: 1955
Died: 2006
Assigned as follows:
- 1956: Sick Leave
- 1957: St. Boniface School (Banning, CA)
- 1958-1969: Boys Town of the Desert, Inc. (Banning, CA)
- 1971: St. John (Encinitas, CA)
- 1972-2001: St. Anne (San Diego, CA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Robert Daniel Nikliborc:
According to media reports, in 1956, Fr. Robert Daniel Nikliborc was sent to a treatment center, Via Coeli Monastery in Jemez Springs, after the Diocese of San Diego received complaints that he was sexually abusing children. He was convicted of tax evasion in 1968 and spent 97 days in jail. He was charged with failing to declare a personal income of nearly $120,000 over a three-year period.
According to court records, while Nikliborc was running Boys Town of the Desert Orphanage, he was also living in Palm Springs, going by the name of “Robert Drew Rand” or “Bob Rand,” and running Robert Rand Enterprises. At various times, the orphanage was known as “Basil Brewer’s Boys’ Town of the Desert” or “St. Boniface Boys’ Town of the Desert.” He was placed on probation from ministry for one year, after which in 1971, he was reassigned to St. Anne’s Church, considered to be the poorest parish in the Diocese of San Diego. He remained there until he retired in 2001.
In December 2003, Nikliborc was named in a civil lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse from 1963 to 1965 at Boys Town of the Desert. Two years later in a 2005 lawsuit, he was accused of sexually abusing an 11-year old boy at the same orphanage. The boys’ suits were included with the 144 plaintiffs who settled with the Diocese of San Diego in 2007 for nearly $200 million.
In October 2010, as part of a settlement with survivors of clergy sexual abuse, the Diocese of San Diego released his personnel file. His file reveals that he was sent to a psychiatrist in March 2007, Nikliborc’s name was included in the Diocese of San Diego’s list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.
In a 1956 letter written to Nikliborc while on a “special retreat,” Bishop Buddy referred to his serious offense of two incidents without describing them, and said Nikliborc must decide whether to stand with God or against him.
“The fact is that your defects on both occasions were reported by lay people, who gave absolute proof which you could not gloss over or deny,” Bishop Buddy wrote.
Nikliborc died in March 2006.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Bernardino. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in San Bernardino, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of San Bernardino now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.