Father Antonio Cortes
Diocese of Monterey
Ordained: 1996
Arrested: 2009
Jail: 2011
Laicized: Unknown
Assignment History:
- 1996-2002: Sacred Heart (Salinas, CA)
- 2001-2005: Diocesan Vocations Board
- 2002-2003: Theodore’s (Gonzales, CA)
- 2003-2007: Holy Trinity (Mexican-Italian) (Greenfield, CA)
- 2007-2009: Mary of the Nativity (Hispanic) (Salinas, CA)
- 2009-2012: On Leave
- 2012: Served 7 months in prison
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Antonio Cortes:
Fr. Antonio Cortes served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Monterey. In 2009, Fr. Cortes was accused of selling alcohol and sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy at St. Mary’s of the Nativity in Salinas, California. The victim reported it to school authorities and the police were alerted, resulting in Cortes’ arrest.
In 2009, police arrested Fr. Antonio Cortes and found him in possession of child pornography. A grooming process first occurred with the child that took place 2 years prior when Fr. Antonio Cortes was the pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield, California. Cortes started with subtle back rubs and inappropriate conversations with the victim.
According to media reports, Cortes was to “enter a plea to a felony charge of sodomy with a minor and 12 misdemeanor counts of child molestation, providing alcohol to a minor, child cruelty and performing an immoral act before a child”.
In 2011, Cortes pleaded no contest and was sentenced to serve a year in jail and 3 years of probation following his release, with the possibility of deportation.
In 2012, after serving 7 months in jail Cortes was released. He failed to register as a sex offender and as a result, a warrant was out for his arrest. Cortes fled to his home state of Jalisco, Mexico.
Fr. Cortes is listed on the Monterey Diocese’s list in 2019 of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor or the Subject of Eligible IRCP Compensation Claims.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Monterey 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 Diocese of Monterey now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Diocese of Monterey, 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.