Father Honesto Bismonte
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Ordained: 1954
Removed: 2002
Assignment History:
- 1955-1981: Unknown
- 1982-1986: St. Agatha (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1987-1997: St. Anthony of Padua, Gardena, CA)
- 1997-2002: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (Pomona, CA)
- 2003-2020: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Honesto Bismonte:
Fr. Honesto Bismonte was ordained a priest in 1954, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, in 2002, he was arrested and convicted of sexual abuse and misdemeanor battery for his repeated molestation of two young girls who were 8 and 12 years old when the abuse began. The charges encompassed as many as 50 incidents over five years between 1997 and 2001 while he was at St. Joseph Church in Pomona. Fr. Bismonte was charged with four felony counts of lewd acts on a child and faced up to eight years in prison. Bismonte received two years’ probation for his crimes. He has been on inactive status since 2006.
As of 2010, he was not listed as a registered sex offender. Fr. Bismonte was listed in the Errata Notice to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors.
In 2019, Fr. Bismonte was accused again in another lawsuit of sexually abusing a girl, ages 8-12, beginning in 1993. The abuse allegedly occurred at the girl’s aunt’s home while Bismonte was assigned to St. Anthony’s in Gardena.
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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