CALIFORNIA
KPCC
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday by an alleged victim of Catholic priest abuse is just the first, activists say, after a California Court of Appeal ruling last week opened the door to additional lawsuits in these cases.
A Sacramento woman, referred to as Jane Doe SS in the suit, filed the civil suit against the L.A. Catholic Archdiocese and St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs. The woman alleges that she was a 15-year-old student at the school in 1980 when Michael Nocita, a Catholic priest and teacher there at the time, sexually abused her on school grounds during school hours.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (an activist organization also known as SNAP) announced the lawsuit outside St. Paul High School. SNAP Western Regional Director Joelle Casteix called last week’s court ruling a “landmark” decision for California alleged victims of California Catholic priest abuse.
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