Father Michael Baker
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Ordained: 1974
Laicized: 2000
Assignment History:
- 1974-1976: St. Joan of Arc (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1976-1982: St. Paul of the Cross (La Mirada, CA)
- 1982-1986: St. Hilary’s (Pico Rivera, CA)
- 1986: Notre Dame University (South Bend, IN)
- 1987: St. Catherine of Laboure (Torrance, CA)
- 1987: Servants of the Paraclete (Jemez Springs, NM)
- 1987: St. Elisabeth’s (Van Nuys, CA)
- 1987-1988: St. Thomas the Apostle (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1988-1993: St. Elisabeth’s (Van Nuys, CA)
- 1991: St. Linus (Norwalk, CA)
- 1991: St. Gerard Majella (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1992: St. Mary’s (Palmdale, CA)
- 1992: St. Lucy’s (Long Beach, CA)
- 1992: Sacred Heart (Lincoln Heights, CA)
- 1993-1997: St. Columbkille (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1993-1996: Office of Vicar for Clergy (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1996: Sabbatical
- 1997-2000: St. Camillus De Lellis Center for Pastoral Care/LA County/University of Southern CA Hospital (Los Angeles, CA)
- 2000: Laicized
- 2001-2006: Unknown
- 2007-2011: Prison
- 2011-2018: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Michael Baker:
Fr. Michael Baker was ordained a priest in 1974, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, he is referred to as one of the Los Angeles archdiocese’s most prolific child molesters. He has been accused of sexually abusing at least 25 victims, one of whom was as young as age 5.
In 1986, Fr. Baker told Cardinal Mahony that he had sexually abused children. Mahony sent Baker to a treatment center in NM, then allowed him to return to ministry.
In 2000, Fr. Baker was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing two boys who were 5 and 7-year old brothers, beginning at St. Hilary’s in 1984, and continuing until 1999. The boys’ family moved to Mexico in 1986, but Baker flew them to LA, Palm Springs, and Arizona over the years. Baker also arranged for the family to move to Tucson, AZ, and visited frequently. The two brothers settled their lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Criminal charges against Fr. Baker in connection with the abuse were dropped after the US Supreme Court barred the revival of decades-old prosecutions of child sexual abuse.
In 2002, Fr. Baker was charged with molesting an altar boy at St. Paul’s. The case was thrown out in 2003 due to a Supreme Court ruling on the statute of limitations. The abuse is said to have begun when the boy was 7 years old, continuing until the boy was 14.
Fr. Baker was laicized in 2000 when the Archdiocese of Los Angeles learned of the pending lawsuit against him. Fr. Baker was arrested in 2006 on suspicion of child sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to the sexual abuse of the two young brothers and was sentenced to 10 years and four months in prison. He was released early, in October 2011. Within weeks he was arrested on a parole violation. In August 2012, he was arrested again when caught violating parole. Two more cases against Baker were filed in 2012.
In 2013, the Archdiocese settled four cases alleging child sexual abuse by Fr. Baker. He was named and included in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors. Fr. Baker’s whereabouts and whether he has had access to children since his release from jail in 2011, are unknown.
According to media reports, in February 2020, Fr. Baker was named in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Cardinal Roger Mahony.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles 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 Archdiocese of Los Angeles now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 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.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.