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	Inland Diocese Has 19 Abuse Cases Awaiting Action By David Olson The Press-Enterprise July 16, 2007 http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_cathside17.4d019a.html San Bernardino — The decision by the Los Angeles archdiocese to settle with more than 500 victims of clergy sexual abuse could speed up resolution of pending cases involving the Diocese of San Bernardino. "We believe it may create an opportunity for us to finalize our cases," said The Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the diocese that serves Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Lincoln declined to elaborate. Currently, there are 19 cases pending against the San Bernardino Diocese for alleged abuse involving priests and lay employees, Lincoln said. "We're doing everything possible to settle the cases that our diocese is currently facing," he said. But Irvine attorney Katherine Freberg, who represents three men who allege they were molested by a priest at churches in Coachella and Perris, said she had no idea what Lincoln was talking about. "There are no settlement talks," Freberg said. "I've tried unsuccessfully to get them to the table." Freberg said she hoped that the Los Angeles archdiocese's settlement will spur the San Bernardino diocese to settle with her clients. "Now all the guns are focused on the dioceses of San Bernardino and San Diego, the two remaining dioceses in the state of California who have not resolved cases for the poor victims," Freberg said. The Rev. Jesús Armando Dominguez faces multiple molestation-related charges for actions that occurred in the 1980s when the alleged victims were minors. Authorities say he may have fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution. Dominguez also allegedly molested four boys in the Los Angeles diocese, Freberg said. Those cases were part of the settlement. Freberg said she believed Dominguez is the only priest accused of molesting minors in both the Los Angeles archdiocese and the San Bernardino diocese. San Diego attorney Michael Zimmer said the Los Angeles settlement gives "more impetus and momentum" to cases filed against the San Bernardino and San Diego dioceses. Zimmer's firm represents two women who said the late Rev. Franz Robier molested them while he was a priest in San Bernardino and Victorville in the 1950s and 1960s. His firm also represented one of the Los Angeles archdiocese's victims whose case was set to go to trial Monday. Nicki Rister, a Colorado woman who alleges she was abused by a priest while a girl at a Highland church in the early 1970s, said that by settling, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony "weaseled out from getting up on the stand." "I feel sorry for the victims because they're not getting a chance to tell their stories," she said. Reach David Olson at 951-368-9462 or dolson@PE.com.
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