Father Michael O’Brien
Archdiocese of San Francisco/Santa Fe
Ordained: 1970
Died: 1993
Assignment History:
- 1970-1972: San Jose (Albuquerque NM)
- 1972-1973: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Moriarty, NM)
- 1973-1974: SS. Peter and Paul (Estancia, MN)
- 1974-1976: Catholic Church of Estancia Valley (Estancia, MN)
- 1976-1981: Francis (Ranchos de Taos, NM)
- 1980-1981: San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church (Ranchos de Taos, NM)
- 1981-1984: St. Gertrude (Mora, NM)
- 1984-1986: Our Lady of Sorrows (Las Vegas, NM)
- 1986-1989: Anthony’s (Questa, NM)
- 1989-1991: Bethany on the Rio Grande (Albuquerque, NM)
- 1991: Absent on Leave
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Michael P O’Brien:
Fr. Michael P O’Brien was a priest of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. He worked many missions across New Mexico and into California. In 2012, a man reported to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe that O’Brien had sexually abused him many times during the 1980s when he was a ten-year-old altar boy at St. Anthony’s in Questa, NM. He filed suit in 2013, and within several weeks, three more men filed suit, also claiming O’Brien sexually abused them as boys.
In May 2013, there were five more lawsuits against O’Brien, and by 2015, there were seventeen, at least nine of which had been settled. According to public records, O’Brien’s modus operandi was said to have been to groom boys with massages and sometimes foot and leg washing, leading to genital washing, fondling, and then rape. He reportedly would also ply boys with alcohol and pornography. His victims were allegedly as young as age eight and as old as age seventeen.
O’Brien is listed on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe‘s 2017 list of archdiocesan clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
O’Brien died of cancer or possibly AIDS in 1993, at age 48.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco 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 San Francisco now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, 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.