Even from the depths of Hell, the legacy of Eleuterio Ramos–the most prolific pedophile priest in the history of the Catholic Diocese of Orange, a man shielded from the authorities by every bishop Orange ever hosted–continues to torment the county's Catholic hierarchy. Ramos alone cost Bishop Tod D. Brown millions of dollars in civil settlements, and His Excellency better get ready to pass around the collection plate once more: a new Ramos victim has stepped forward and is planning to sue for their abuse.
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The victim (whose name the Weekly is withholding–we're not
the Orange County Register, after all) says they were
molested by Ramos during the 1970s but only recently was motivated to
come forward after reading my 2005 piece, “King
of the County Pedophiles,” online. The victim has already hired an
attorney, San Pedro-based Werner Meissner, and are planning to file a
lawsuit against the Orange diocese soon.
“It is another Ramos victim and we are back in the
saddle again,” says Meissner, who was one of the first attorneys to
ever sue the Orange diocese for its sex-abuse scandal, representing
another Ramos victim in the early 1990s. “The church has not changed its
attitude or handling of
these cases one bit. They will pursue every angle available to avoid
acknowledging their wrongdoing and will put these victims through
torment before even considering fair compensation which only begins
the healing process and the rebuilding of their lives.”
This
represents only the eighth Ramos victim to ever come forward, out of the
“at least 25” Ramos himself admitted to molesting. And, contrary to
what apologists claim, these victims usually finally come forward after
getting over the guilt that church officials put on them to stay quiet.
Heckuva job, Brownie!
