Facts

Plaintiffs, ten alleged victims of sex abuse, claimed that priest Ochoa-Perez, also known as Francisco Xavier Ochoa sexually abused them at various times between 1984 and 2006. Ochoa was ordained as a Jesuit in 1969 in Mexico, and arrived in Sonoma County in 1988. He served as assistant pastor at St. Francis Solano Church in Sonoma and was suspended in April 2006 after admitting to an incident with a 12-year-old boy. Ochoa fled to Mexico in May 2006.

The alleged victims are now between 13 and 34 years of age, primarily belong to two families and include former altar boys. They brought suit against the diocese accusing it of failure to protect the plaintiffs as minors. The suit further alleged that the Santa Rosa Diocese was negligent in supervising Ochoa and failed to conduct a background check on Ochoa.

The Diocese denied that it had any notice of unlawful sexual conduct by Ochoa, until Ochoa's admission of such conduct in April 2006. The Diocese intended to file motion for summary judgment based on the expired statute of limitations in several of the cases, including the claim of a boy whose abuse by Ochoa began in 1984 in Mexico before Ochoa came to the Diocese.

Result

Settlement pending judicial approval was reached after mediation talks. The Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Diocese will pay $5,020,000 to ten people, with the help of its insurance carriers and proceeds from selling real estate adjacent to a Santa Rosa church.