Rev. Leo Donald Tubbs, o.p.

Summary of Case: Tubbs is accused of having molested a 15-year-old boy in 1985. He was one of seven Dominicans secretly being housed at a Dominican priory in an Oakland, CA neighborhood, as exposed by news media in 2005. Tubbs was "put on lockdown" by his order in 2004, after he traveled alone to Bangkok without permission, and because of boundary violations with adults.

Ordained: 1966

     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1966

Oakland bishop was Floyd Lawrence Begin (1962-1977)

1968 St. Albert's College Oakland CA This was a house of studies for the Dominican Province of the Holy Name.

1968

Los Angeles archbishop was James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (1948-1970), followed by Timothy Manning (1970-1985)

1971 Daniel Murphy High School Los Angeles CA   Daniel Murphy High had 524-530 students, all boys.

1971

San Diego bishop was Leo Thomas Maher (1969-1990)

1972 University of San Diego High School San Diego CA   USD High had 1,280 students.

1972

 

 1974 Daniel Murphy High School Los Angeles CA Vice Principal 1973-1974 Tubbs is indexed in the 1973 Directory as at Daniel Murphy High School, but he is not listed as there in the Los Angeles archdiocesan pages. The school had 460-430 students, all boys.
1974 1977 St. Raymond's Dominican Retreat Thousand Oaks CA   This was a general retreat and boys' summer camp.
1977 1981 Daniel Murphy High School Los Angeles CA The 1978-1981 Directories list Tubbs as "Very Rev.", and note that he was in residence.

DMHS had 440-468 students, all boys.

The 1979 Directory indexes Tubbs as "Fathers of the Pious Schools", Los Angeles. The 1980 Directory indexes Tubbs as "Piarist Fathers" in Los Angeles.

1981 1982 Mater Dei High School Santa Ana CA   Mater Dei had 1,116 boys and 1,082 girls.

1981

Orange bishop was William Robert Johnson (1976-1986)

1983 St. Raymond of Penyafort House Santa Ana CA 2/4

Sub-Prior 1982-1983 		 

1983

Sacramento bishop was Francis Anthony Quinn (1979-1993)

1984 St. Dominic's Benecia CA 3/5 St. Dominic's had a school with 315 students.

1984

Oakland bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003)

1985 Holy Rosary

Antioch

• Tubbs reportedly had non-genital touching over clothing" with a 15-year-old  boy in 1985. The abuse is said to have occurred in Oregon.

 CA 3/3

Holy Rosary had a school with 244 students.

Rev. Edward Krasevac, who handled sex abuse related issues for the Western Province Dominicans, said in 2005 that Tubbs "had problems keeping his hands to himself".

1985 1986 Siena House Oakland CA    
1986 1989 Holy Rosary Antioch CA 1/4 Holy Rosary had a school with 315-268 students.

1989

Portland archbishop was William Joseph Levada (1986-1995)

1991 Holy Rosary Parish and Dominican Priory Portland OR 3/7  
1991 1992 St. Benedict's Lodge McKenzie Bidge OR Chaplain This was a Dominican Retreat and Conference Center.
1992 1993 Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology Berkeley CA    

1993

Cummins was succeeded as Oakland bishop by Allen Henry Vigneron (2003-2009), followed by Salvatore Joseph Cordileone (2009-)

2011 Dominican Order, Siena House Oakland CA  

Tubbs was one of seven Domincan sex offenders discovered in late 2004 to be housed on Dominican property in an Oakland neighborhood. Neighbors were outraged that they had not been informed of the presence of the seven men.

In 2004 Tubbs traveled to Bangkok alone, without permission. Bangkok had been called "a pedophile's paradise". The order said Tubbs went to Thailand to visit the family of a friend who was undergoing investiture as a Buddhist monk. Because of issues of disobedience and boundary violations with adults, Tubbs was put on "lockdown" at Siena House by the Dominicans, and was to be accompanied whenever leaving the priory.

 

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1967-2011)

• More on "Sex Offender" Priory, By Matt C. Abbott, Renew America, March 3, 2005
• Admitted Sex Offender Priests Named, In Oakland Seminary, ABC7, April 6, 2005
• Look at Six Sex Offender Priests Who Live at St. Albert's Priory, Associated Press, April 7, 2005
• Background on Sexual Misconduct Issue, ABC 7 [California], Downloaded October 14, 2005
• Abuse Was Common in Religious Orders, By Jeremy Herb and Rob Dennis, San Jose Mercury News, April 1, 2008
• Accused Clerics, Contra Costa Times, April 1, 2008



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Tubb's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Dec. 23, 2011.