Rev. Xavier Ochoa-Assignment Record

Assignment Record– Rev. Xavier (Javier) Ochoa/ Rev. Francisco Ochoa-Perez

Summary of Case: A native of Guadalajara, Ochoa was ordained for the Jesuits in Mexico in 1969. In 1988 he began working in the Diocese of Santa Rosa CA. Ochoa was placed on leave in April 2006 after acknowledging a recent incident of sexual misconduct involving a 12-year-old boy. He admitted to Bishop Daniel Walsh a past history of "a problem with a boy" when working in Mexico. (Investigators later learned that, beginning when he was age 14, the the boy had been violently raped by Ochoa in Carichi, Chihuahua Mexico; when the boy was age 15, his parents allowed Ochoa to live with him in the U.S.) Bishop Walsh didn't report Ochoa's admission of abuse to law enforcement for three days; by then Ochoa had fled to Mexico. Two civil suits were filed in October 2006 by seven accusers. Ten plaintiffs settled with the diocese and bishop in September 2007 for a little over $5 million. Ochoa's victims include former altar boys and girls. A federal arrest warrant was issued July 27, 2008. Ochoa died a fugitive November 30, 2009 in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.

Ordained: 1969
Died: November 30, 2009

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State/Country	Position	Notes
1969	1987		• In 2006 Ochoa told Santa Rosa Bishop Walsh that he had had a problem with a boy while working in Mexico. (CBS 5 [Santa Rosa CA] June 24, 2006) Investigators later discovered that this boy had been violently raped by Ochoa, beginning when he was 14 and living in Carichi, Chihuahua Mexico. When the boy was 15, and with his family's permission, Ochoa brought him to live with him in church owned property in the U.S. (The Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA] July 28, 2006)	Mexico		Per news reports, Ochoa was ordained a Jesuit in 1969, in Mexico. (The Associated Press, carried in Monterey County Herald [California] June 23, 2006) His name does not appear in the Directories until 1988.
1987	1989	St. Francis Solano	Sonoma • Charged in 2006 of sexual abuse of three boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, as early as 1988. (San Francisco Chronicle [California] June 22, 2006) • A California attorney stated in 2006 that he knew of at least nine Ochoa victims from three families, and that Ochoa was molesting boys from the time he came to Sonoma County from Mexico in the late 1980s. (The Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA] July 28, 2006)	CA	3/3	Parish had a school with 300-298 students
1989 Santa Rosa bishop was John Thomas Steinbock (1987-1991).	1991	St. John the Baptist	Napa • Told Bishop Walsh in 2006 that he had kissed an altar boy when he was stationed in Napa. (CBS 5 [Santa Rosa CA] June 24, 2006) • Accused in a 2006 lawsuit of having molested a 5-year- old in around 1990. (Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA] October 10, 2006)	CA	2/3	Parish had a school with 302-293 students. The 1991 Directory is the last in which Ochoa's name is followed by s.j. Per news reports, Ochoa left the Jesuits and became a diocesan priest in 1988, when he arrived in Sonoma. (The Associated Press, carried in Monterey County Herald [California] June 23, 2006)
1989	1991	St. Luke Chapel, State Hospital	Imola	CA		This was a station of St. John the Baptist in Napa.
1991 George Patrick Ziemann succeeded Steinbock (1992-1999).	1993	St. Rose of Lima	Santa Rosa	CA	3/5, 3/4	Parish had a school with 355-413 students.
1991	1993	Resurrection	Santa Rosa	CA	3/4
1993	1994		• Per 2006 news reports, Ochoa was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1993 in his home in Cotati CA. (The Press Democrat June 22, 2006)			Ochoa is not indexed in the 1994 Directory.
1994	1997	Our Lady of Guadalupe	Windsor	CA	2/2	Parish had a religious education program with 250-150 students.
1997 Daniel Francis Walsh replaced Zeimann as Santa Rosa bishop (2000-).	2000	Special Assignment
2000	May 2006	St. Francis Solano	Sonoma • Admitted in April 2006 to Bishop Walsh that he had engaged in sexual misconduct with a 12-year-old boy, as well as to "a history of inappropriate contact with boys." Police confiscated child porn and cocaine from Ochoa's stored belongings in May 2006. (The Associated Press, carried in Contra Costa Times June 21, 2006) • In a 2006 lawsuit, Ochoa was accused of having orally copulated an 11-year- old in 2004. (Press Democrat [Santa Rosa CA] October 10, 2006)	CA	3/3, 2/3	Parish had a school with 360-310 students, and a religious education program with 317-199 students. Ochoa was removed from his priestly duties in April 28, 2006, after admitting to sexual misconduct with a 12-year-old boy. The diocese didn't report the "possible abuse" to Child Protective Services until May 1. Detectives discovered on May 4 that Ochoa had put his belongings in storage and fled to Mexico. (The Press Democrat June 22, 2006) The diocese settled with ten alleged Ochoa victims in September 2007. The ten included former altar boys and girls, who were between the ages of 11 and 34 at the time of the settlement. (San Francisco Chronicle September 13, 2007)
May 2006	2009			Mexico		Ochoa died November 30, 2009 in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. (Press Democrat June 3, 2011)

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1988-2006).

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 & 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 Ochoa'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 March 24, 2015.