Father Robert Ponciroli
Diocese of Oakland
Ordained: 1969
Retired: 1999
Died: 2009
Assignment History:
- 1969-1970: St. Leander (San Leandro, CA)
- 1970-1974: Cathedral of St. Francis De Sales (Oakland, CA)
- 1974-1975: St. Cornelius (Richmond, CA)
- 1975: St. Jarlath’s (Oakland, CA)
- 1975 1979: Our Lady of Grace (Casto Valley, CA)
- 1979-1983: St. Ignatius (Antioch, CA)
- 1984: Unknown
- 1985: Sacred Heart (Oakland, CA)
- 1986: Unknown
- 1987-1995: Immaculate Heart of Mary (Brentwood, CA)
- 1996-1999: St. Cyril (Oakland, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Robert Ponciroli:
There are at least seven known child sex abuse victims of Fr. Robert Ponciroli. Ponciroli was removed from ministry in 1995 and underwent therapy after the Diocese of Oakland received a sexual abuse allegation against him. According to media reports, in 2002, Ponciroli was named in a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a boy in 1980, while at St. Ignatius in Antioch, California. The police also received a report that same year accusing Ponciroli of child sexual abuse at the Cathedral of St. Francis De Sales in Oakland, CA, from 1973 to 1974. In 2003, Ponciroli was arrested and charged with molesting two altar boys in the 1980s; however, the charges were dropped after a California Supreme Court ruling.
According to media reports, court records showed that the parents of two boys at St. Cornelius reported to the Bishop in 1975 that Ponciroli had sexually abused their two sons. Other reports suggested to authorities that Ponciroli was “too free with boys, especially altar boys”. Records in Ponciroli’s priest file show that his superiors knew of sexual misconduct allegations as early as 1975.
Ponciroli died in 2009 while residing in Florida.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Oakland in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in California, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Oakland now have legal options, 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.