So far, in recent weeks, we’ve explained on this blog why we at Horowitz Law consider Fr. Gregory Sierra Sheridan and Fr. Edward Anthony Rodrigue among the very worst, most prolific child molesting clerics who have ever worked for or in the San Diego diocese. These two predator priests, however, have real competition for that unsavory title. Here are two other particularly egregious predator priests who have spent time in the San Diego area:
Msgr. Robert S. Koerner
In 2002, San Diego bishop Robert Brom learned that Msgr. Koerner had molested several minors during his 27-year tenure there. His history was known in the parish for years. Brom apologized to parishioners. In 2007, his name was added to the San Diego diocesan list of priests with credible abuse allegations, and in 2010, his diocesan personnel file was publicly released (thanks to victims who had filed suit and insisted on the disclosure of more information about predator priests). Separate files released by his religious order (the Oblates) in 2013 show that Msgr. Koerner admitted fondling and kissing boys and girls. He has repeatedly been named in civil lawsuits as an abuser (three filed in 2003, four others settled that same year, and five more victims filed suit against him in 2020). Besides San Diego, Msgr. Koerner also worked in Montana and Texas. In fact, he died in San Antonio, Texas.
Fr. William Armstrong Kraft
Over a span of nearly 20 years, he allegedly abused several boys and at least one girl. In 2001, one of his victims, who had sued Fr. Kraft in civil court, settled his case for $250,000. Beginning in 2003, several other civil child sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits were filed against him and his church supervisors. The first such suit involved allegations that Fr. Kraft abused a boy for five years. Some of those cases were resolved in 2007 as part of a massive $198.1 million settlement covering the crimes of dozens of child molesting clerics. And that same year, he was added to the San Diego diocesan list of ‘credibly accused’ abusive clerics. Thankfully, both abusers are deceased, and their church personnel files have been made public.
Rank the abusers yourself. But you don’t need to take our word for which San Diego predator priests are ‘the worst.’ Many diocesan documents that provide stunning details of their wrongdoing are now publicly available. For example, the personnel files of each one of these child-molesting clerics were opened up – under legal duress, of course, when hundreds of victims took legal action against San Diego church officials:
Fr. Joseph Rossell, Fr. Adalbert J. Kowalczyk, Fr. Michael Victor Marron, Fr. Rudolph Galindo, Fr. James A. Ganahl, Fr. I. Brent Eagen, Fr. Herman Francis Flynn, Fr. Patrick J. Kearney, Fr. John Charles Keith, Fr. Malachy M. McGinn, Fr. Patrick Carl McNamara, Fr. Barry Vinyard, Fr. Thomas Moloney, Fr. John M. Beatty, Fr. James T. Booth, Fr. James Creaton, Fr. Michael Raymond O’Donohoe Fr. Michael O’Connor, Fr. Emmanuel O. Omemaga, Fr. Patrick J. O’Keeffe, Fr. William R. Savord, Fr. David Roll, Fr. William D. Spain, Fr. Matthew J. Thompson Fr. Donald F. Doxie, Fr. Luis Eugene de Francisco, Fr. John Joseph Daly, Fr. Robert Daniel Nikliborc (a.k.a. Robert Drew Rand), Fr. Victor Uboldi (a.k.a. Ubaldi) and Fr. Edito D. Amora (a.k.a. D’Amora.). Just enter a name in the ‘search box’ on our website. Or go to BishopAccountability.org.
There’s also considerable information online about the following predators, largely because victims have sued them – and the clerics who ignored or hid their crimes – and through litigation, oftentimes long-buried church records are disgorged:
Fr. Michael French, Fr. Rudolph Galindo, Fr. James A. Ganahl, Fr. Ramon Marrufo, Fr. Michael O’Connor, Fr. Michael Raymond O’Donohoe, Fr. Patrick J. O’Keeffe, Fr. Franz Robier, Fr. Edward Anthony Rodrigue, Fr. Gregory Sierra Sheridan, Fr. Matthew J. Thompson and Fr. William Valverde.
In fact, more so than in most US dioceses, much about this ongoing scandal has seen the light in San Diego. We hope you will check out the many church documents about these dangerous or once-dangerous priests. Finally, in an earlier blog, we detailed the movement of San Diego predator priests in and out of the diocese and even across international borders. However, we unintentionally failed to mention several southern California abusers who were sent to church-run centers for ‘troubled clerics.’ They include:
- Fr. Franz Robier was accused of abusing as many as 24 girls, including four sisters who were orphans. He was sent to a Paraclete ‘treatment center’ in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
- Fr. William R. Savord was removed from active priesthood without privileges and sent to the Servants of the Paraclete Treatment Center.
- Fr. Arthur Carrillo was accused of abuse, removed from public ministry, and sent to Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre.
- Fr. Ephrem (or ‘Ephrem’) Cirilio was accused of both raping a seven-year-old girl and fathering a child. He was sent to a Servants of the Paraclete retreat house in Canton, Ohio.
- Fr. David Roll was put on medical leave and ‘treated’ at St. Luke Institute and at a center run by the Paracletes.
Finally, in case you missed it earlier, the work histories of Fr. Rodrigue and Fr. Sheridan are mentioned at the outset of this blog. And here’s a story about an interesting twist in the saga of Fr. Rodrigue
- Here’s an older blog naming San Diego predator priests who may still be ‘under the radar.’
- And a newer one looking at the transfers and movements of predator priests in and out of San Diego.
- And here’s more about the more recent Chapter 11 Catholic bankruptcy filing and what it means for anyone who was hurt by a San Diego church, school, parish, or diocesan employee.
Horowitz Law represents victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Diego 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 Diego 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 at 954-641-2100 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.