Father Leonel Noia
Diocese of San Jose
Ordained: 1972
Removed: 2002
Died: 2005
Assignment History:
- 1970-1971: St. Patrick Seminary (Menlo Park, CA)
- 1972-1973: St. Victor Parish (San Jose, CA)
- 1973-1975: St. Patrick Parish (San Jose, CA)
- 1975: St. Joseph Parish (Mountain View, CA)
- 1975-1978: Suspended Faculties – Incarcerated
- 1978-1982: St. Julie Billiart Parish (San Jose, CA)
- 1982-1986: St. Anthony Parish (San Jose, CA)
- 1986-2002: Five Wounds Parish (San Jose, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Leonel Noia:
Fr. Leonel Noia was ordained a priest in 1972 who served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of San Jose. According to media reports, in 1976, he was convicted of sex crimes after two boys testified that he showed them pornography and rubbed their genitals on a camping trip. The boys told a family that was on a camping trip nearby and they called the police. At the time, the priest was serving at St. Joseph Parish in Mountain View, California.
Noia pled no contest to one felony charge. He was sentenced to jail for six months, five years probation and psych treatment. Upon his release and completion of psychiatric treatment, he returned to work in 1978 as a pastor, and served in assignments at three San Jose parishes throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He was permanently banned from ministry in 2002 based on the new zero-tolerance policy of the Dallas Charter.
According to media reports, in 2002, there were two new allegations against Noia, followed by a civil lawsuit filed in 2003. Both of these claims were included in the 2005 settlement of $21.2 million with the Archdiocese of San Francisco that involved 5 priests.
In 2018, Noia’s name was included on the Diocese of San Jose list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse.
Noia died in 2005.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Jose 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 San Jose now have legal options due to a temporary change in the law, 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 toll-free at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.