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St. Anthony's Seminary
Archive of Franciscan Sex Abuse
in the Province of St. Barbara

Priest Files, Deposition
Transcripts and Exhibits

Note: On August 13, 2012, we added to this archive the personnel file of Bro. Tom Thing. See the entire Thing file as released, and selections from the file.

This page provides the entire archive – over 8,500 pages of priest files and other documents – obtained by survivors of sexual abuse committed by Franciscan priests and brothers, as stipulated in nonmonetary provisions of a May 25, 2006 settlement. This is by far the largest release of religious order documents in the history of the sexual abuse crisis.

Objections by the accused friars to release of their personnel and confidential files were rejected in a June 18, 2007 opinion by Judge Peter D. Lichtman, and he ruled on specific objections from the accused perpetrators and Franciscan officials in his April 2, 2009 order with detailed exhibits on the objections of the Franciscans, alleged perpetrators, and "bystanders," including Franciscan managers. His decisions were affirmed on September 10, 2010 by the California Court of Appeals, and on January 19, 2011, the California Supreme Court declined to review the appeals court decision, allowing the release of the documents to proceed.  

Although the attempt to prevent the release of documents ultimately failed, the defendants did succeed in aggressively redacting the documents. The names of the provincial ministers and other managers on whose watch the abuse occurred have been redacted from the record. Moreover, redactions and claims of privilege have turned the priest files into a patchwork: complaints documented in the depositions of survivors are frequently not represented in the priest files as released. While names of managers have been redacted, their titles have not. We have compiled a staff list for the provincial office, schools, and houses that readers might find useful. See also our list of provincial ministers.

Despite these issues, the Franciscan Sex Abuse Archive is a major new source of information on the abuse of children by Franciscan priests and brothers, on the enabling of abuse by Franciscan provincial ministers and managers, and on the Franciscan culture within which the abuse of children has thrived for decades.

Below we provide: 1) the Archive of Franciscan Sex Abuse, with links to over 8,500 pages of priest files, depositions, and exhibits; and 2) Selected Documents.

NOTE: We are continuing to update the selected documents portion of this page. Refresh the page to be sure you are viewing the latest version. Please email us if you have redaction concerns or suggestions for the selected documents section.

 

THE ARCHIVE OF FRANCISCAN SEX ABUSE

The archive contains the files of nine priests and brothers: Cimmarrusti, Van Handel, Johnson, and Krumm; Cabot, Carriere, Connolly, McKeon, and Pacheco. Information about the first four priests was also contained in the depositions of survivors and managers. Those depositions and exhibits were bundled with the relevant priest file. In a final section, we provide links to all the depositions. They offer important information on the culture of St. Anthony's Seminary and the managerial practices of the Franciscans.

BishopAccountability.org obtained these files from Timothy Hale, Esq., who had redacted the files to comply with all agreements. We optimized the files using Adobe Acrobat to make them smaller and easier to download, and if the resulting file was still larger than 5 megabytes, we split it up, and offered it both as a single file and as a number of smaller files. These are still large files and will take time to download on some connections. We are adding server capacity to ensure good download performance.

When the defendants requested that entire pages be redacted, and the court did not grant the request, Mr. Hale retained the blank Xed-out page, indicating that there had been a difference of opinion about the redaction. We deleted the blank page to make the documents more readable, but we provided a "With Blanks" version of the file, so that interested readers can see what redactions were not allowed by the court. Light shading in the documents indicates smaller redaction requests that were disallowed.

In order to provide context for the documents, we offer links to Mr. Hale's useful narrative history of abuse in Santa Barbara. We will also provide links to assignment histories and other biographical sources.

 


Cimmarrusti

Fr. Mario Cimmarrusti OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel [6.4M] – OFM CIMM 1 0001-0212 – Split for Easier Download: 1 2
        • Psychological – OFM CIMM 1 0213-0324 – With Blanks
        • Confidential – OFM CIMM 1 0325-0470 – With Blanks

• Deposition of Witness 6 (Cimmarrusti)

Depositions of Cimmarrusti Survivors
        • Witness 3 and Exhibits
        • Witness 15 and Exhibits
        • Witness 17
        • Witness 23

Depositions of Colleagues with Particular Connections to Cimmarrusti
        • Witness 1
        • Witness 2 and Exhibit
        • Witness 9
        • Witness 10 (Harris): Vol. 1 and Exhibits; Vol. 2 and Exhibits
        • Witness 12
        • Witness 16 and Exhibits

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Cimmarrusti


Van Handel

Fr. Robert Van Handel OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel [6.1M] – OFM VANH 1 0001-0209 – Split for Easier Download: 1 2
        • Confidential [19.2M] – OFM VANH 1 0210-0765 – With Blanks [19.8M]; Split for Easier Download: 1 2 3 4 5
        • Psychological – OFM VANH 1 0766-0801
        • Laicization – OFM VANH 1 0802-0872  – With Blanks

Depositions of Van Handel Survivors
        • Witness 8
        •Witness 25

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Van Handel

Van Handel's Sexual Autobiography


Johnson

Bro. David Johnson OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel – OFM JOHN 1 0001-0125 – With Blanks
        • Confidential – OFM JOHN 1 0126-0272 – With Blanks
        • Psychological – OFM JOHN 1 0273-0459
        • Laicization – OFM JOHN 1 0460-0496  – With Blanks

Deposition of Johnson Survivor
        •Witness 25

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Johnson


Krumm

Fr. Gus Krumm OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel [5.9M] – OFM KRUM 1 0001-0223 – Split for Easier Download: 1 2
        • Psychological – OFM KRUM 1 0224-0279
        • Laicization – OFM KRUM 1 0280-0326

Deposition of Johnson Survivor
        • Witness 25

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Krumm


Cabot

Bro. Samuel Cabot OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel – OFM CABO 1 0001-0117
        • Confidential – OFM CABO 1 0118-0129
        • Psychological – OFM CABO 1 0130-0219 – With Blanks

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Cabot

 

 


Carriere

Fr. David Carriere OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel – OFM CARR 1 0001-0224 – With Blanks; Split for Easier Download: 1 2

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Carriere       

 

 

 


Connolly

Bro. Berard Connolly OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel [15.8M] – OFM CONN 1 0001-0391 – With Blanks [15.9M]; Split for Easier Download: 1 2 3 4
        • Confidential [13.7M] – OFM CONN 1 0392-0707 – With Blanks [13.7M];
                                                                                   Split for Easier Download: 1  2 [6.1M]  (2A  2B)  3
        • Psychological – OFM CONN 1 0708-0735

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Connolly

 

 


McKeon

Fr. Martin McKeon OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel – OFM McKE 1 0001-0118 – With Blanks

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: McKeon

 

 

 


 

Fr. Gary Pacheco OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel – OFM PACH 1 0001-0056 – With Blanks
        • Confidential [6.1M] – OFM PACH 1 0057-0362 – Split for Easier Download: 1 2
        • Psychological – OFM PACH 1 0363-0388
        • Laicization – OFM PACH 1 0389-0447  – With Blanks

 


Serra Retreat Center

Administrators and Colleagues

Depositions Also Listed Above
        • Witness 1
        • Witness 2 and Exhibit
        • Witness 9
        • Witness 10 (Harris): Vol. 1 and Exhibits; Vol. 2 and Exhibits
        • Witness 12
        • Witness 16 and Exhibits

Other Depositions
        • Witness 4
        • Witness 5 and Exhibits
        • Witness 7 (Cordano): Vol. 1 and Exhibits; Vol. 2 and Exhibits
        • Witness 11
        • Witness 13
        • Witness 14 and Exhibits
        • Witness 18 and Exhibits
        • Witness 19
        • Witness 20 and Exhibits
        • Witness 21 (Sayovitz)
        • Witness 22 and Exhibits
        • Witness 24 and Exhibits

 


Tom Thing

Bro. Tom Thing OFM

Priest Files
        • Personnel [25.4M] – FRAF 00001-00509, and for easier download:
        • 1A: FRAF 00001-00128 [6.7M]
        • 1B: FRAF 00130-00151 [1.3M]
        • 2:   FRAF 00152-00299 [5.6M]
        • 3:   FRAF 00300-00412 [6.3M]
        • 4:   FRAF 00413-00509 [5.5M]

Plaintiff's Application to Amend Complaint: Thing

Coonce Complaint with Description of Alleged Abuse before Las Vegas
Coonce Settlement

 

 

SELECTED DOCUMENTS

Cimmarrusti

Mother's Letter about Cimmarrusti's Abuse of Her Son and Its Effects on the Family (11/27/92)

Profile Prepared during the Board of Inquiry (8/21/93)

Psychological Assessment of Cimmarrusti Commissioned by Franciscans (11/18/93) – medicine a "guise" for abuse, younger boys

Sexual Deviancy Evaluation of Cimmarrusti (12/9/93) – 250 boys age 13-15

Report to After-Care Program Director (3/18/2002) – Cimmarrusti admits to abusing minors in Mexico

MacDonald Letter Describing Cimmarrusti at San Damiano Retreat Center (8/8/02) – capable of living within the guidelines?

Follow-Up Letter by MacDonald (8/26/02) – to whom will Fr. Mario be responsible and accountable?

Letter from West to Cimmarrusti (5/31/03) – restrictions at San Damiano

Krumm

Interim Guidelines Restricting Actions and Contacts, Signed by Krumm (12/10/02) – misplaced in Cimmarrusti file

Thing

Refresh your browser to view recent additions to this list.

Assignment Record

Negative Vote for Candidacy (5/78); see also all votes, including mention of immaturity

Description of Alleged Abuse before Las Vegas, from the Coonce Complaint (3/14/11); see also the Coonce Settlement (6/12)

Solemn Vow Evaluation Mentioning "Difficulties and Tensions" in Las Vegas (5/1/87)

Letter from Thing to Provincial Saying That the Provincial Asked Thing to Leave Youth Ministry in Walnut Creek (1/17/89)

Letter from Thing to Provincial on Provincial's "Well Founded Concerns" about Thing As Director of Youth Ministry in Utah (12/23/92)

TARA Assessment of Thing after 1993 Allegation; Thing Refused Polygraph (5/24/93)

Letter from Provincial Office to Thing on Settlement of "Unfair" Allegation (2/8/95)

Partial Summary of Allegations (No Date)

Report of Investigation of Sexual Misconduct with Young Friar, Including Thing's Admission of Wrongful Power Difference (12/6/00)

Thing Assessed As Lying about Sexual Relationship with USD Student (2/5/01)

Restrictions Recommended by Clinical Psychologist after Polygraph (2/23/01)

Provincial Tells Psychologist That Thing Was"Crestfallen" to Be Ordered Out of USD in 60 Days (2/23/01)

Letter from Province Official to Therapist Saying That if Thing Takes Leave, He Still Cannot Work As University Chaplain (4/1/01)

McGovern Memo Again Recommending No University Position for Thing (5/9/02)

West Memo about Thing's "Unethical and Immoral" USD Misconduct and Prohibited Ministry to Young Adults (3/13/03)

West Email about a Mother Telling the Las Vegas Franciscans That Thing Had Molested Her 12-Year-Old Son (11/25/03)

Letter Describing Thing's Request for Dispensation from Solemn Vows (4/2/04)

Van Handel

Parents' Letter to Van Handel, Provincial, and Bishop Ziemann (4/23/92) – led to prosecution of Van Handel

Parents' Letter to Cardinal Mahony (11/9/92)

Van Handel's Sexual Autobiography (mid-1990s)

Profile Prepared during the Board of Inquiry (8/19/93)

Letter by Provincial Minister to Van Handel at Retreat Center on Board of Inquiry Report (11/21/93) – concealing the names

Social Worker's Evaluation of Van Handel for Probation Officer (5/18/94) – the actual and potential damage I've caused to young men

Letter by Provincial Minister to Van Handel in Prison on Abuse Cases, Insurance, Wolfe, and Krumm (12/12/94)

Allegation Summary (No Date)

Letter Describing Thing's Request for Dispensation from Solemn Vows (4/2/04)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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