A Mexican national has filed a Los Angeles County sex abuse lawsuit seeking damages for the molestation he allegedly suffered at the hands of Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera. Although allegations of sex abuse have followed Aguilar since the 80's, he was only defrocked last July.
The victim claims the alleged sex abuse incidents happened in the late 1980's. He is accusing Los Angeles Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahoney and Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of covering up the alleged sex acts committed by Aguilar Rivera in an attempt to protect the Catholic Church from scandal. Rivera Carrera had asked Mahoney to place Aguilar Rivera in an LA ministry following an incident in Mexico involving boys who were beaten as punishment during an overnight stay in the Diocese of Tehuacan rectory.
Within nine months of arriving in the US, LA police had 26 reports of sex abuse involving the Mexican priest. Aguilar River may have abused up to 60 boys in Mexico.
The plaintiff is just one of a number of people to seek Los Angeles personal injury compensation for Aguilar Rivera's alleged sex abuse crimes and the church's failure to protect the victims and stop the priest from continuing to molest more people. Now age 25, the plaintiff is the first person known to employ the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 to seek a jury trial and request compensation for crimes that were committed abroad.
The Aguilar Rivera is currently a fugitive in Mexico.
Los Angeles Sex Abuse Lawsuits
It is mind-boggling to think of the number of people that have been the victims of clergy sex abuse over the years. For the hundreds of people that have stepped forward to seek personal injury compensation and/or tell their story, there are hundreds more that have chosen to remain silent or have yet to remember what happened to them.
Sexual abuse or assault of any kind is a violent crime that is punishable under law. The plaintiff may also be able to seek Los Angeles injury compensation for physical, emotional, and mental injuries, and other damages.
Mexican man who says he was raped by priest files lawsuit naming Mahony, Mexican cardinal, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2010
Attorneys Sue LA, Mexico City Cardinal Over Abuse, Associated Press, NY Times, April 20, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Alien Tort Claims Act, Global Policy Forum
