A May 16 trial date has been scheduled in one of two civil lawsuits filed against the Catholic Diocese in Brownsville that allege church officials tried to protect a priest accused of the sexual assault of two siblings.
The lawsuits — initially filed as one but later divided into two — were filed nearly two months after the Diocese released a list containing the names of 12 priests accused of sexually assaulting children. The accused priest, Father Benedicto Ortiz, was one of the 12 named in the list released by the diocese in 2019.
A hearing was held via Zoom on Thursday before Judge Gloria M. Rincones of the 445 state District Court, in which attorneys announced they were ready for trial. Although the trial had tentatively been set to begin on Feb. 14, the increase of COVID-19 cases in the area prompted the board of judges to make a decision to hold off on jury trials in the months of January and February.
Rincones told attorneys Darren Wolf, who is representing the women who filed the lawsuit, and Minerva Zamora, who represents the Diocese, to be ready for May. “I intend for this case to be tried on May 16,” the judge said. The lawsuit involving plaintiff “L.C.” will be tried first.
The lawsuit, filed March 26, 2019, in Cameron County, alleges that in 1982, Ortiz was a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Brownsville, where the individuals — referred to as L.C. and D.S. — attended church. They were between the ages of 10 and 13 at the time Ortiz began to assault them, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, the assaults started when L.C. and D.S. would spend the night with Ortiz, and continued when he moved them into the rectory with him. Ortiz is accused of sexually abusing L.C. and D.S. from about 1982 to 1985 by exposing himself to the children.
The lawsuit states the priest required “them to be naked in his presence, fondling them, requiring them to touch him, and engaging in oral sex, providing Plaintiffs with drugs and alcohol, playing pornographic videos, and masturbating in front of them.” Ortiz also took the children on trips with him to South Padre Island where the alleged abuse continued, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, then-Bishop John Fitzpatrick knew L.C. and D.S. were living with Ortiz and that he transferred the priest from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to St. Anne Mother of Mary in Pharr. L.C. and D.S. moved with Ortiz where the alleged assault continued, the lawsuit alleges. L.C. and D.S. lived with Ortiz for about three years until Fitzpatrick ordered Ortiz to not have any contact with them, according to the lawsuit.
In its response to the lawsuit, the diocese in court filings stated that because the plaintiffs know that the statute of limitations has run out, they are attempting to “salvage their claims by shifting their claims from sexual abuse to a theory of institutional cover up. This attempt is disingenuous because Plaintiffs have always based their lawsuit on the abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of Benedicto Ortiz.”
