Brother Charles Leonard Connor
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Jesuits)
Ordained: Unknown
Died: 2011
Assignment History:
- 1971-2011: Sacred Heart Jesuit Center (Los Gatos, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Brother Charles Leonard Connor:
Br. Charles Leonard Connor was a Jesuits priest, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, he is one of several Jesuits accused of sexually abusing two mentally disabled men at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in the mid-to-late 1990s. Reports were first made in 1995 and again in 1997, in which Br. Connor admitted to his superiors that he had inappropriately touched one of the mentally disabled men. Still, the police were never notified, and Connor was allowed to continue working.
The case was reopened in 2000, and a police investigation revealed documents that showed the abuse might have lasted from 1970-2000. Br. Connor was removed from the Jesuit center and transferred to Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. Bellarmine College Preparatory was not informed about Br. Connor’s allegations before Br. Connor arrived at the school.
Br. Connor was criminally charged in 2001 and pleaded no contest, resulting in six months of house arrest with direct supervision at Sacred Heart, home to three Jesuits who were registered sex offenders. According to the civil lawsuit, the men were repeatedly subjected over 30 years to sodomy, molestation, and false imprisonment.
According to media reports, the Jesuits settled the suit with the two men for $7.5 million. The Jesuits have since settled two separate civil cases involving Br. Connor, one of which was a wrongful death lawsuit involving another Jesuit priest who committed suicide after repeatedly telling superiors that Br. Connor had sexually abused him. Br. Connor died in 2011. He was listed on the Jesuits West Province’s 2018 list of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
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.
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