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| Father Adrian Cristobal, Accused of Sex Abuse in Guam, Is Missing after Leaving Phoenix
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
Arizona Republic
June 15, 2018
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2018/06/15/guam-priest-accused-sex-abuse-father-adrian-cristobal-missing-after-leaving-phoenix/702237002/
Father Adrian Cristobal, who was on sabbatical in Phoenix until recently and is accused of sexually abusing two boys more than 20 years ago in Guam, has not returned to the island as ordered by the church.
Two men filed separate civil suits in federal court in Guam in April and May accusing Cristobal of sexual abuse.
Cristobal had arrived in Phoenix in December 2017 for sabbatical with a letter of good standing, the Phoenix Diocese said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic. He did not have an assignment and the Phoenix Diocese said it removed his faculties, or his ability to perform church sacraments, after the first suit was filed in April.
Phoenix Diocese spokesman Rob DeFrancescso said Cristobal had called them in April, saying he was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport "presumably heading to Guam."
The local diocese hasn't heard from him since, DeFrancescso said.
The Archdiocese of Agana says Cristobal could face further sanctions by the church if he does not return to the island by Friday.
The Guam church has been rocked by numerous allegations against priests, which came after the territory lifted the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in 2016. Three Arizona residents are among those claiming sexual abuse by Catholic church leaders on the Pacific island.
Where is Cristobal?
Cristobal is said to have left Phoenix sometime in April after the church called for him to return to Guam.
He is believed to be in the vicinity of New York, according to the Pacific Daily News.
The archdiocese of Guam has communicated via email with Cristobal that he is to return and a church investigation into the claims is underway, the Pacific Daily News reported.
The Arizona Republic was unable to reach Cristobal's family in Guam.
What happens next
The allegations against Cristobal were filed as part of a civil lawsuit, which means a warrant for his arrest is out of the question, according to Phoenix attorney Tom Crowe.
Attorneys representing the accusers could ask the court to issue a summons for Cristobal to appear in court, according to Crowe. However, Cristobal would need to be served the summons, which means he would need to be found first.
"They could hire a PI (private investigator)," Crowe said. If Cristobal receives the summons but does not show up within the 21 days allotted in federal court, the judge can be asked to make a judgement.
In federal civil cases, people who are summoned often try to find ways to avoid appearing, Crowe said.
"It happens a lot," Crowe said, adding that many civil cases are decided without the person present if they refuse to appear.
As for what the church can do, Cristobal has already had some of his religious authority stripped in Phoenix and Guam. Further sanctions could mean he could perform even fewer duties while under investigation. For example, he could no longer be allowed to participate in confessions.
Almost two decades of alleged abuse
The latest claims against Cristobal were made by a man identified in court documents as J.C.C., who grew up in a devout Catholic family in Barrigada, Guam.
The suit seeks $5 million.
The court documents recount:
The alleged abuse began in 1995 when J.C.C. was 11 years old and attending a Catholic school where Cristobal taught. He says the first instance happened after Mass, when Cristobal helped the boy properly tuck in his shirt and then molested him.
The abuse was almost daily the first few years, often after school or before Mass, the suit claims.
J.C.C. says he tried to fight off Cristobal as the abuse escalated.
"J.C.C. was so terrified because he had to go through three locked doors to escape," according to court documents. "J.C.C. feared for his life and sometimes thought (Cristobal) would never let him out."
J.C.C. says he kept silent about the abuse out of shame. He says he eventually began abusing drugs and acting out, which got him kicked out of school.
By the age of 14 or 15, he quit being an altar boy at the parish, although he still attended Mass because of his family's religious devoutness.
Cristobal would ask the family for the boy's help with errands, often offering to pay "because his family didn't really have money."
J.C.C. says his drug problem worsened.
"He was turning to drugs in an effort to self-medicate. When (Cristobal) learned that J.C.C. had a drug problem he took advantage of it, and would use the money to lure J.C.C. in, in exchange for sexual pleasure," the court filing says.
He says the abuse happened until he was 25.
The suit alleges others at the church knew of the abuse and did not report it.
A 35-year-old man filed a similar suit against Cristobal in April, saying the sexual abuse occurred between 1995 and 1997 at the same school and parish in Barrigada.
Arizona connections
The Catholic Church controversy in Guam already has reached Arizona in other ways.
Two Arizona men and the mother of a third man have accused Guam priests of sexual abuse. They included:
Casa Grande resident Walter Denton of Casa Grande accused former Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron, then a parish priest, of sexual abuse.
Prescott resident Doris Concepcion alleges her son, Joseph Quinata, told her — just before he died 13 years ago — that Apuron molested him when he was an altar boy in Guam in the 1970s.
Chandler resident Francis Charfauros, 49, wanted to be a priest when he was younger, but he says he was sexually abused by Rev. Jack Niland when he was 14 and living in Guam.
Charfauros said he kept his secret for years until he heard the testimony of 52-year-old Roy Quintanilla, the first man who who came forward in 2016 with allegations of sex abuse by Apuron, who worked in the same rectory as Niland.
“Although it took me 40 years to come forward, I’m glad I did and I am glad for everyone that came forward to tell their story,” Quintanilla said.
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