Father Claude Riffel
Diocese of Sacramento/Franciscan Friars
Ordained: 1940
Reported: 2009
Died: 1977
Assignment History:
- 1940-1945: St. Anthony’s (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1945-1946: St. Mary’s (Phoenix, AZ)
- 1955-1958: Serra High (Salem, OR)
- 1958-1968: St. Francis (Troutdale, OR)
- 1968-1968: Holy Cross (Mesilla Park, NM)
- 1968-1969: Ascension (Portland, OR)
- 1969-1974: St. Francis (Spokane, WA)
- 1974-1976: St. Anthony’s (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1976: St. Francis (Sacramento, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Claude Riffel:
A $4M lawsuit was filed in 2009 against the Franciscan Friars of California, by a Portland man for sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of Fr. Claude Riffel. The assault occurred while Riffel served at the St. Francis Minor Seminary in Troutdale, Oregon, between 1962-1965. According to the lawsuit, Riffel, then the Dean of discipline for the school, would call the 15-year-old boy out of class on the pretext of assigning his work tasks, and would then abuse him.
Sexual abuse allegations were also reported to the Santa Barbara Franciscan Friars in the years following. His name is listed on the Santa Barbara Province Franciscans’ list in 2019 and on the Diocese of Las Cruce’s list of deceased credibly accused in 2019.
Riffel died in 1977.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Sacramento in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Sacramento now have legal options due to a temporary change in the law, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
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