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	Diocese Faces Suit by Alleged Abuse Victims By Jim Doyle San Francisco Chronicle [Santa Rosa CA] October 12, 2006 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/12/BABADIGEST2.DTL Eight alleged victims of a fugitive priest have filed a lawsuit that accuses the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa of failing to protect them as minors from incidents of sexual abuse spanning two decades. The suit, filed Tuesday in Sonoma County Superior Court, contends that diocese officials knew of the alleged sexual misconduct of the Rev. Francisco Ochoa-Perez, but failed to take action to stop him. The alleged victims, who are now between 11 and 34 years old, include seven former altar boys and a girl. The incidents occurred in Ochoa's living quarters and the children's homes from 1985 until May of this year, the suit alleges. Ochoa-Perez, who is also known as Francisco Xavier Ochoa, had served as an assistant pastor at St. Francis Solano Catholic Church in Sonoma. The 68-year-old priest is believed to have fled to Mexico in early May. Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him in June that charged him with 10 felonies involving sexual assaults and lewd conduct with three minor children. "I assure you that neither I nor any member of the chancery had any prior knowledge of this or any previous incidents involving Fr. Ochoa," Bishop Daniel Walsh wrote to parishioners in June. Meanwhile, the district attorney is investigating whether the bishop and other priests knew about Ochoa's alleged sexual crimes but failed to notify the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department in a timely manner. In a bulletin to parishioners, Walsh said that Ochoa admitted sexual misconduct with minors on April 27. The bishop apologized for making "an error in judgment" by consulting first with the diocese attorney instead of reporting the case immediately to authorities, who were contacted by the diocese attorney a few days later. "The attorneys have advised the bishop not to comment," said Deirdre Frontczak, a spokeswoman for the diocese.
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