Father Gary Pacheco
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Franciscan)
Ordained: 1974
Removed: 1987
Laicized: 1994
Assignment History:
- 1975: Unknown
- 1976-1977: Saints Simon and Jude (Huntington Beach, CA)
- 1978: Unknown
- 1979-1985: Saints Simon and Jude (Huntington Beach, CA)
- 1986: St. Polycarp (Stanton, CA)
- 1987-1988: St. John the Baptist (Costa Mesa, CA)
- 1988: Removed from Diocese of Orange
- 1989-2018: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Gary Pacheco:
Fr. Gary Pacheco was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1974, who served in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, he has been accused of molesting numerous children in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, an allegation of child sexual abuse was reported to the Archdiocese. Fr. Pacheco was sent to the Servants of the Paraclete facility in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. He had been sent to other facilities in the past for what was labeled as ”an alcohol problem”.
Fr. Pacheco has been named in at least two civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse, both of which settled in the 1990s. According to court records, Fr. Pacheco groomed children by taking them to Disneyland or attending their birthday parties.
Fr. Pacheco was reportedly removed from the Diocese of Orange in 1988, but was still permitted to practice. He was finally laicized in 1994.
Fr. Pacheco was included on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ 2004 list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors. The LA list revealed that the priest had sexually molested at least one minor in 1975. He was also included on the Santa Barbara Province Franciscans 2019 list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It notes allegations of abuse occurring in 1975, and from 1978 to 1983 received in 1988, 1992, 2004 and 2019.
As of 2010, Fr. Pacheco was believed to be living in Fountain Valley, California. Fr. Pacheco’s current whereabouts and whether he has access to children are unknown.
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.