EL PASO (TX)
KDBC [El Paso, TX]
November 24, 2025
By Natalie Venegas
A civil lawsuit filed in April accuses a local recovery program and a religious counselor of sexually abusing five men enrolled in a court-mandated treatment program, according to court documents obtained by KFOX14/CBS4 on Monday.
According to the lawsuit, five former residents of Casa Vida de Salud say they were groomed, assaulted, and threatened by Jorge Gabriel Giorgetti, aka George Gabriel Georgetti, a chaplain and recovery coach who worked closely with residents.
The Recovery Alliance of El Paso, a non-profit organization, operates residential and sober living recovery programs for those struggling with substance use and addiction, including Casa Vida, a 37-bed residential recovery center in central El Paso, according to its website.
In the lawsuit, five men say that through the summer of 2024, a spiritual advisor, Giorgetti, used his authority over them to serially abuse them.
The lawsuit alleges Giorgetti would routinely question residents of Casa Vida, including the five plaintiffs, under the pretense of spiritual guidance, but that the conversation would turn sexual, including questions about sexual abuse, sexual acts with men and women, homosexual thoughts, and other sexually charged questions.
In addition, Giorgetti would regularly take residents to a restaurant and ask questions such as if they found waitresses attractive, whether they were aroused, or what sexual acts they would perform with the waitresses, the lawsuit states.
On multiple occasions, Giorgetti had also taken residents to other locations where he had sexually assaulted residents, including his house, car, and his office at the recovery facility, under coercion and fear, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, El Paso Alliance allowed Giorgetti to take residents on outings.
The lawsuit states that the men feared speaking out due to Giorgetti’s ability to report residents as non-compliant, which could lead to jail time, as Giorgetti would remind them that failure to comply with his demands would result in their expulsion from the court-mandated program.
“If you don’t do this, I will throw you out,” Giorgetti is quoted as saying, according to one of the alleged victims in the lawsuit.
According to court documents, when Giorgetti made advances and victims declined, he would threaten their positions at the facility.
“No one would believe an addict,” he’s quoted as saying.
The lawsuit from April 2025 is against El Paso Alliance-Casa Vida De Salud and George Gabriel Giorgetti. The suit claims El Paso Alliance-Casa Vida De Salud kept Georgetti as a spiritual leader and supervisor, with access to vulnerable residents, failing to act on complaints or red flags, and allowing the abuse to continue.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to Giorgetti’s lawyer, Gabriel S. Perez, who sent the following statement on Tuesday:
Mr. Giorgetti is aware of the civil lawsuit that has been filed and is currently pending before the 120th Judicial District Court in El Paso County, Texas. He intends to respond to the allegations through the legal process and looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself in court. At this time, he will have no further comment.
KFOX14/CBS4 has also contacted Recovery Alliance of El Paso-Casa Vida Salud on Monday.
In a statement emailed to KFOX14/CBS4 on Tuesday, Recovery Alliance Executive Director Ben Bass said, “We at the Recovery Alliance opened our doors in 1998 and have been serving people in El Paso seeking recovery from alcoholism and addiction since then. In 2005, we opened Casa Vida and have served thousands of El Pasoans since then, with the rooms of recovery filled up with people from this very successful project since that day. We are vigorously defending this lawsuit.”
Bass added that Giorgetti “was never employed by us. He was a volunteer and held no credentials in our field.”
The lawsuit also named other defendants, including the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, the Diocese of the Holy Trinity and Great Plains, and the Right Reverend Leo Joseph Michael.
According to Jonathan Baeza, an attorney who represents the men in the lawsuit, these defendants and the claims against them have been “resolved.”
KFOX14/CBS4 has contacted the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite on Monday evening, but has not heard back.
In a statement to KFOX14/CBS4 on Monday, Baeza, said in part, “Our focus now is pursuing claims against Casa Vida and Giorgetti. During this phase of discovery, we’re seeking evidence of how Casa Vida failed the most basic safeguards—how they ignored red flags, permitted inappropriate outings, and created conditions that allowed abuse to occur. These men deserve their day in court, and every recovery program should be on notice: you have a duty to protect the vulnerable people our community entrusts to your care.”
In another statement emailed to KFOX14/CBS4 on Tuesday, Baeza said the men in the lawsuit have reported the allegations against Giorgetti to the El Paso police, where it remains an ongoing investigation.
“We want the public to know that on July 25, 2024, the victims reported these allegations to the El Paso Police Department, where the matter remains under active investigation. In response to a public-records request, the City Attorney’s Office confirmed that investigative records cannot be released at this time because disclosure would interfere with an ongoing investigation. We commend our clients for their courage in coming forward to both law enforcement and through the civil justice system. While we cannot comment on the specifics of the criminal investigation, we remain committed to supporting our clients through both processes and ensuring full accountability for the alleged abuse that occurred at Casa Vida,” Baeza said.
KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to the El Paso police on Tuesday regarding this investigation.
Another attorney representing the men, Daniela Labinoti, said:
Casa Vida was supposed to be a place of recovery and safety for these young men. Instead, it empowered George Gabriel Georgetti, an ordained priest and program figure who wielded religious authority and institutional power to coerce, assault, and intimidate them. These young men were groomed, coerced, and sexually abused by a priest who was given unchecked power by both the facility and its church leadership. Our clients were vulnerable, court-mandated residents who were told ‘no one would believe an addict.’ These young men showed extraordinary courage in coming forward. They are telling their stories not only to seek justice for themselves, but to protect future residents because systems that allow abuse to thrive depend on silence. The facility knew. The church leadership knew. No one stepped in. This case is about accountability. It is about institutions that failed in their most basic duty: protecting the people they were trusted to serve.
She added, “We stand with these Plaintiffs and will pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law. We believe them. And we will fight for them.”
The plaintiffs are seeking damages of over $1 million.
Giorgetti is currently associated with Our Lady of the Abandoned Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite.
Giorgetti practices Catholicism Anglican Rite, and is not part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, which stated that Giorgetti is not associated with them.
In addition, Giorgetti is listed on the Catholic Diocese of El Paso as someone with whom they are not affiliated.
However, KFOX14/CBS4 has learned that Giorgetti previously worked for the El Paso District Attorney’s Office as a victim advocate for almost 10 years.
The El Paso District Attorney’s Office confirmed in an email statement that he worked as a victim advocate from Nov. 8, 2004, to Aug. 29, 2014, before being terminated.
However, it is unclear why Giorgetti was terminated from his position.
KFOX14/CBS4 has previously spoken to Giorgetti in the past.
Most recently, in May 2025, after he returned from a trip to the Vatican, where he witnessed the election of Pope Leo.
Then, in 2020, when covering Georgetti’s visits with COVID-19 patients.