Brother Tom Thing
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Franciscan Friars)
Ordained: Unknown
Left Order: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1974-1978: St. Anthony Seminary School (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1979-1981: Unknown
- 1982-1983: Invested/Simple Vows
- 1983: St. Paul of the Shipwreck San Francisco, CA); pastoral, urban ministry, Las Vegas, NV)
- 1984: Unknown
- 1985: 7th Street Formation House (location unknown)
- 1986: Unknown
- 1987: Solemn Vows; San Damiano, Catechetical University
- 1988-1989: Unknown
- 1990: St. Francis, Provo, UT)
- 1991-1993: Unknown
- 1994: Old Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA)
- 1995: Leave of Absence
- 1996-2001: University of San Diego, Campus Ministry, San Diego, CA)
- 2001: Health Sabbatical
- 2002: Unknown
- 2003: Old Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA)
- 2004: Left order
- 2005-2021: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Brother Tom Thing:
Brother Tom Thing was a member of the Franciscan Friars of California who served in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, when he was a pre-novitiate candidate at St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara, allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced. He was transferred to the Diocese of Las Vegas where allegations of abuse once again surfaced when he worked at St. Christopher’s Elementary School in North Las Vegas in the 1980s. At least one survivor has alleged child sexual abuse during this time.
In 2003, Brother Thing returned to Old Mission San Luis Ray where his behavior was monitored by a guardian. In 2004, he was officially released from the Order. From 2010 to 2011, he was the director of student life at Rosemead Buddhist University, where he had a relationship with a younger student. He was named in several civil lawsuits in 1995, 2004. A new suit filed in Nevada in 2011, alleged the child sexual abuse of a 7th-grade boy at St. Christopher Elementary School in North Las Vegas.The suit was settled in June 2012. His personnel file was released by Order.
In 2019, his name appeared on the of Dioceses of Las Vegas and Oakland’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors, as well as on the on the Province of St. Barbara Franciscans’ list. It noted child sexual abuse allegations from 1982 to 1984, reported in 1993, 2004 and 2014. As of 2017, it is believed he was living in Whittier, CA. His current whereabouts are unknown.
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