Father Eusebio Pantoja (“Fr. Chevy”)
Diocese of Trenton/Claretian Missionaries
Ordained: 1969
Removed: 1980/2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1970: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Chicago, IL)
- 1971-1973: Our Lady of Fatima (Perth Amboy, NJ)
- 1974: St. Timothy (San Antonio, TX)
- 1975-1977: St. Anthony (Robstown, TX)
- 1978-1979: Sacred Heart (Mathis, TX)
- 1980: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Corpus Christi, TX)
- 1991: (Mexico)
- 1991-2019: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Eusebio Pantoja:
Fr. Eusebio Pantoja, more commonly known to his parishioners as “Fr. Chevy,” was a priest of the Claretian Missionaries ordained in Mexico. He lived in the Archdiocese in the early 1970s and assisted with the Spanish Cursillo. He left the Claretians in 1973. After working in Chicago, he had assignments in New Jersey (Diocese of Trenton) and Texas. He then spent almost a decade working as a priest in Mexico. In 1980, he was removed from ministry in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. That same year, he was expelled from the Claretian order.
According to media reports, in 2002, a man alleged that Pantoja had abused him as a child in the early 1970s. One year later, in 2004, he was placed on leave by the Diocese of Claya in Mexico after a lawsuit was filed alleging that he “repeatedly sexually abused” a 14-year-old boy in the 1970s at the priest’s home and in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Chicago. The Archdiocese found the survivors to be credible, and the lawsuit was later settled.
Pantoja’s name appeared on the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors released in November 2018. His name appeared on the Diocese of Corpus Christi’s list, as well as on the Diocese of San Antonio’s list in January 2019. It noted that in 2002 he was accused of sexually abusing two children in the archdiocese in the early 1970s. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Trenton. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Trenton, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Trenton 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.