Judge rules against S.D. diocese in 2 abuse cases

Punitive-damage requests allowed

January 18, 2007

Diocese of San Diego officials, who knew for years that the Rev. EdwardAnthony Rodrigue preyed on children sexually, should face punitivedamages in addition to compensation requests for pain and suffering,according to legal arguments put forth by the plaintiffs' attorneys.

A judge this week agreed.

Over strenuous denials from San Diego BishopRobert Brom's attorneys, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge HaleyFromholz ruled sufficient evidence existed that church officials foryears knew of Rodrigue's lust for boys, yet failed to intercede.

“The legal standard for punitive damages here iswhere you can show the priest's conduct was despicable and hissuperiors knew of it and continued to retain him,” Irwin Zalkin said.

Zalkin is a San Diego attorney representing plaintiffs in 24 lawsuits stemming from abuse by Rodrigue.

“Their (church officials') behavior mustdemonstrate a conscious disregard for the safety of kids by a clear andconvincing standard,” he said.

Diocese officials have declined to comment on the pending lawsuits.

Rodrigue, 69, admitted in depositions tomolesting five to six boys a year over a 24-year period, beginning inthe 1960s. He was suspended from performing priestly duties in 1985 andremoved from the priesthood in 1991.

After being convicted of molesting a disabledboy in 1998, Rodrigue spent eight years in state prison. He was paroledlast year and is living in San Bernardino, according to the stateattorney general's Web site.

In addition to reports that Rodrigue was abusing children even as a seminarian, court papers cite these instances:

While assigned in 1967 to St. John the Evangelist parish in Encinitas,Rodrigue was confronted by a church dean for sexually abusing childrenand was reassigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Calexico.

A boy at the Calexico parish told the pastor and others in 1969 that heregularly spent the night with Rodrigue. Later, another boy told thepastor that Rodrigue fondled him, yet the priest remained at the churchfor another two years.

In 1975, while serving as pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe in El Centro,Rodrigue admitted he abused young boys. One boy twice called the SanDiego diocese office to complain and was told “not to say such things.”

While assigned in 1977 to St. George's in Ontario, Rodrigue's requestfor a room with a private door was granted and, according to hisdeposition, he took advantage by abusing dozens of children there.

The other lawsuit in which punitive damages willbe requested involves the late Rev. Franz Robier. He is accused ofrepeatedly abusing four orphaned sisters from Germany during the 1950sat a San Diego facility run by Catholic Charities.

The Robier case is scheduled for March.

Mark Sauer: (619) 293-2227; mark.sauer@uniontrib.com