Ex-Priest Accused Of Raping Altar Boy In Texas Has Trial Delayed
EL PASO (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The trial of a former Texas priest accused of sexually abusing an altar server for years was postponed after Catholic leaders named hundreds of priests credibly accused of child abuse.
The El Paso Times reports that Miguel Luna's trial was delayed Wednesday. Luna is charged with molesting and raping a child at an El Paso Catholic church.
Luna's lawyer Francisco Macias says the delay will allow media coverage of the list to calm down and ensure Luna gets a fair trial.
Fourteen dioceses in Texas last week released the names of 286 priests and others accused of child abuse, marking one of the largest accounts of clergy abuse since a shocking Pennsylvania report last year. Luna is among 30 priests listed by the Catholic Diocese of El Paso as being credibly accused.
Allegations of abuse against Catholic priests surfaced at the prestigious all-boys private Catholic prep school Jesuit Dallas in December of 2018.
Eleven names of predator priests with ties to Jesuit Dallas were made public.
Four of them are accused of abusing underaged children while working there, but the school refused to say how many victims they think were abused.
According to the letter sent out to the Jesuit Dallas Community by the school's President Michael A. Earsing:
The list includes four past members of the Jesuit Dallas community who were the subject of credible accusations of inappropriate conduct with a minor during their tenure here. They are:
Don Dickerson (1980-81)
Thomas Naughton (1973-79)
Claude Ory (1966-67; 1987-94)
Vincent Malatesta (1981-85)
There are seven others who were accused of misconduct with a minor elsewhere, but who had been assigned for a certain period of time by the New Orleans Province Office to Jesuit Dallas:
Claude Boudreaux (1967-73)
Charles Coyle (1959-60)
Tom Hidding (1982-83)
Francis Landwermeyer (1958-59; 1960-61)
Vincent Orlando (1968-71; 1975-79)
Norman Rogge (1958-60)
Benjamin Wren (1955-58; 1962-63)
To see the full letter by Jesuit Dallas' President, click here.
Anyone who has been sexually abused by clergy is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1.800.252.5400 or visit tabusehotline.org and the Diocese of Dallas Victim Assistance Coordinator, Barbara Landregan, at 214.379.2812.
