Father Owen da Silva
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Franciscan)
Ordained: 1936
Died: 1967
Assignment History:
- 1936-1937: St. Anthony’s Seminary (Santa Barbara, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Owen da Silva:
Fr. Owen da Silva, a member of the Franciscan Friars, was was ordained a priest in 1936, and served in multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, he was named in multiple civil lawsuits, including a 2008 lawsuit filed against the Franciscan Friars, Old Mission Santa Barbara. The survivor alleges that he was sexually abused by Fr. da Silva from 1936 to 1937 at St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara, California. It is reported that Fr. da Silva was the first known perpetrator of clergy child sexual abuse in Santa Barbara.
He is named publicly on the Santa Barbara Province Franciscans list and on the Las Cruces Diocese’s list of Credibly Accused Clergy of Child Sexual Abuse in 2019.
Fr. da Silva died in 1967. His whereabouts and whether he had access to children from 1937 until his death in 1967 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.
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