LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A man who was allegedly molested as a boy by a priest can argue to a jury that the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles failed to warn him of the dangers posed by its clergy.
An Oct. 20 ruling by California’s Second Appellate District overturned summary judgment granted to the Archdiocese on a John Doe’s claim that it failed to educate and warn students of the sexual predators they’d possibly encounter at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church.
Doe has lost all of his other claims against the Archdiocese. He claims Father John Higson, an associate pastor at the church, groped him and made him perform oral sex on him in 1988 when he was 10 years old and attending catechism classes.
Doe told his father about the alleged incident and another one in 2014. His lawsuit noted the Archdiocese’s awareness of sexual abuse in churches and that by 1984, it had received 25 reports regarding its priests.
His lawsuit alleged the Archdiocese negligently hired and supervised Higson, but he lost that claim in the trial court and did not appeal. His case at the Second District concerned only his theory that the Archdiocese failed to educate, train and warn.
“Like schools, athletics organizations, junior recreational leagues and youth programs, the Archdiocese, through its teachers and priests, assumed responsibility for the safety of students in its catechism classes,” the ruling says.
Considering the history of abuse by priests, it was reasonably foreseeable that it would happen again, the ruling states. And policy concerns over subjecting the Archdiocese to litigation aren’t strong enough to throw out Doe’s case, it added.
The trial court will now decide whether the Archdiocese breached its duty to protect Doe.