Latest News 2010 September Insurance Code Citation Warrants Lawsuit Against Priest

Insurance Code Citation Warrants Lawsuit Against Priest

As reported in Silicon Valley's Mercury News, an adult male has alleged abuse in a California parish 20 years ago by a Mexican Priest.  A lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles as well as a Mexican Cardinal.

Reverend Nicholas Aguilar Rivera allegedly molested the man when he served as an altar boy in 1987 at Saint Agatha's Church in Los Angeles.

Aguilar Rivera was on a temporary assignment at that time from his own diocese in Tehuacan, Mexico.  He only returned to Mexico when several parents grew suspicious of his behavior and they contacted church officials in January of 1988.

The now defrocked Aguilar Rivera is believed to be hiding in his car in Puebla, Central Mexico, because he is wanted in the U.S. on 19 felony counts of lewd conduct.  Plaintiff's attorneys are accusing the Mexican church of protecting Aguilar Rivera from authorities in both countries.

In another lawsuit filed earlier this year, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney, along with then-Bishop Norberto Rivera, head of the Diocese of Tehuacan, were both accused of protecting Aguilar Rivera from being prosecuted by moving Aguilar Rivera back and forth between the U.S and Mexico. 

The lawsuit cites that parishioners in both Mexico and U.S. have complaints against Aguilar Rivera for molesting young boys in both countries.

Bishop Norberto Rivera, now elevated to cardinal of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, is not related to Nicholas Aguilar Rivera.

Spokesperson for the Los Angeles archdiocese, Tod Tamberg, has stated, "There is absolutely nothing here about Aguilar Rivera that has not already been covered extensively by the media since 1986." Tamberg declined to comment further as he had not seen the lawsuit.

Hugo Valdemar, spokesperson for Cardinal Norberto Rivera, contended in a phone interview, "From the beginning, we said they can file one or 1,000 lawsuits, it's all the same.  It's nothing more than a publicity scheme."

This suit is attempting to avoid the law that limits how long a victim has to file a lawsuit by citing portions of the state insurance code, and using it toward those injured by sexual abuse.

The code applies to those that were partially compensated by a defendant for their injury.  If the defendant, or its insurance company, didn't tell them that they had a specific number of years to file a suit they would lose their rights to file.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs believe that this applies to the victim as he received therapy sessions, paid for by the church, but neither the archdiocese nor its insurers supplied the required notice regarding the deadline for a lawsuit.

Anthony DeMarco, the plaintiff's attorney, attested "They've done this with many others over the years as well.  Anyone over the years that has had therapy paid for by the diocese potentially could reap the benefits of this insurance code section."

If you, or a loved one, have suffered from priest abuse, please contact a personal injury attorney near you.

Categories: Sexual Abuse

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