Nearly 20 San Diego Predator Priests are Missing from the Diocese’s Accused List

When we were looking at the Diocese of San Diego’s child molesting clerics, we noted that the official diocesan accused list is, as usual, far from complete. Here are just three of the names of credibly accused San Diego area clerics who do NOT appear – but SHOULD – on the official diocesan accused list:

• Fr. James Creaton
• Fr. Ramon Marrufo
• Fr. Nicholas M. Reveles

Here are more alleged child molesting clerics who also don’t appear – but should appear – on the San Diego diocesan list: Fr. Buchanan, Fr. Carrillo, Fr. Daly, Fr. Eagen, Fr. Holtey, Fr. Koerner, Fr. Kurlandski, Fr. MacCourt, Fr. Marron, Fr. Neri, Fr. O’Connor, Fr. O’Donohoe, Fr. O’Keefe, Fr. Russell and Fr. Sheehy. (More details about them are below.) When one looks at a broader list of credibly accused San Diego Catholic clerics, a few of them jump off the page:

• Fr. Edward Anthony Rodrigue: A priest who admits to abusing 150 children
• Fr. I. Brent Eagen: A priest who rose to become the chancellor of the San Diego diocese
• Fr. Patrick Carl McNamara: A priest who had a law degree before ordination
• Fr. Matthew J. Thompson: A priest who had a city street named after him, which was later reversed
• Fr. Michael Higgins: A priest accused of soliciting sex in a confessional and sued his bishop
• Fr. James T. Booth: A priest who married a 19-year-old university student and later became an Episcopal priest
• Fr. Emmanuel O. Omemaga: A priest who is a fugitive and was charged with 40 counts of abusing a 14-year-old girl just after returning from a mass by Pope John Paul II
• Fr. Edward Augustine Sheehy: A priest who worked in South Africa and in nearly every corner of the US – Maine, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Baltimore
• Fr. Robert Daniel Nikliborc: A priest who changed his name, did jail time for tax evasion, ran Boys Town of the Desert, and owned homes in Las Vegas and Palm Springs where he reportedly “lived a lavish lifestyle.” Also went by the name Robert Drew Rand)
• A cleric known only as “Brother Thomas” and a nun known only as “Sister Bridgette.”

More observations on the San Diego accused list:

1. Several are or were arrested, criminally charged, or convicted: Fr. Patrick J. Hughes, Fr. Gary Michael Holtey, Fr. Daly, Fr. O’Keeffe, and Fr. Nikliborc.
2. Several worked as military chaplains: Fr. Donald F. Doxie, Fr. Edito D’Amora, Fr. O’Donohoe, and Fr. O’Connor.
3. Several admitted abusing kids: Fr. Robert S. Koerner, and Fr. Rudolph Galindo.
4. Several are being sued under the new Child Victims Act for the first time: Fr. Joseph Rossell, Fr. Joseph Russell, and Fr. Koerner.
5. Several belong or belonged to religious orders: Fr. Michael M. MacCourt (Columbans), Fr. McGinn (Salesians), Fr. Beatty (Viatorians), Fr. Arthur Carrillo (Passionist), Fr. Flynn (Holy Cross), Fr. Peter Marron (Augustinians), Fr. Sheehy (Paulists), Fr. Koerner (Oblates), Fr. Lawrence Kurlandski and Fr. Kowalczyk (both Resurrectionists).
6. And at least two are accused of molesting both boys and girls: Fr. William Armstrong Kraft and Fr. Koerner.

The diocese acknowledges having predator priests from a range of foreign countries, including Austria (Fr. Robier), Spain (Fr. Sheridan), Colombia (Fr. De Francisco), Canada (Fr. Flynn), Northern Ireland (Fr. MacCourt), the Philippines (Fr. Edito D’Amorac and Fr. Omemaga) Mexico (Fr. Neri and Fr. Jose Chavarin), and Ireland (Fr. Patrick J. Kearney, Fr. Michael Victor Marron, Fr. Peter Marron, Fr. O’Keeffe, Fr. McGinn, Fr. Moloney, Fr. O’Connor and Fr. O’Donohoe). One predator worked in Johannesburg, South Africa (Fr. Sheehy), and another later moved to Italy (Fr. Victor Uboldi, spelled Ubaldi in some articles.)

As one would expect, a number of San Diego predators worked in other states: Peoria and Joliet (Fr. John Beatty), Reno (Fr. Robert Buchanan), Ohio (Fr. Ephren Cirilio Neri), Newark (Fr. Nelson C. Damasco), Philadelphia (Fr. Mark A. Medaer), Rhode Island (Fr. George Lally), Chicago (Fr. Adalbert J. Kowalczyk) Rockford (Fr. Peter Joseph Marron), Brooklyn (Fr. John Joseph Daly), New Hampshire (Fr. Paul Gill), South Carolina (Fr. Herman Francis Flynn), New Jersey (Fr. Justin Langille), one who was in both Texas and Florida (Fr. Luis Eugene De Francisco) and one who worked in Kansas, Texas, and Nebraska (Fr. Gregory Sierra Sheridan). And as one would also expect, a number of San Diego predators worked in other California dioceses, including Fresno (Fr. Neri), Santa Rosa (Fr. Daniel Polizzi), San Francisco (Fr. Peter Marron, Fr. Jose Chavarin), Los Angeles (Fr. Michael O’Connor, Fr. Michael Raymond O’Donohoe, Fr. Sheehy) and San Bernardino (Fr. William R. Savord, Fr. James A. Ganahl, Fr. Malachy M. McGinn, Fr. Thomas Moloney, Fr. Patrick J. O’Keefe, Fr. Franz Robier, Fr. Rodrigue, Fr. Thompson, Fr. William Valverde). Others spent time in Austin TX, Seattle WA, Richmond VA, San Antonio, TX, and Montana.

In short, while dozens and dozens of San Diego priests, nuns, brothers, seminarians, monks, and other clerics have been publicly ‘outed’ by diocesan officials, at least a dozen others who lived or worked in the area are NOT on the diocesan list.
If you saw, suspected, or suffered abuse or cover-ups in the San Diego diocese, we at Horowitz Law urge you to contact us today. Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in California, contact our office today. The filing deadline is December 31, 2022, so please do not delay in reaching out to us. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.