Father Luis Eugene De Francisco
Diocese of San Bernardino
Ordained: 1931
Died: 1990
Assigned as follows:
- 1959: St. Michael The Archangel (Miami, FL)
- 1960-1961: Unknown
- 1962: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Indio, CA)
- 1962-1963: St. Jude Church (San Diego, CA)
- 1963: Blessed Sacrament (San Diego, CA)
- 1964-1989: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Luis Eugene De Francisco:
Fr. Luis Eugene De Francisco was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Cali, Colombia. He worked for multiple parishes in Florida, Texas, and California. According to a memo, parishioners at three separate parishes reported complaints regarding his “association with their children.” In August 1963, De Francisco was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. He was accused of abusing the children of migrant workers at three churches in the Coachella Valley.
The church arranged for the charges to be dropped, as long as De Francisco immediately left the country to return to his home diocese in Cali, Colombia, vowing never to return to the United States.
In March 2007, his name was included in the Diocese of San Diego’s list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. His personnel file was released in October 2010. Among the released documents was a letter addressed to de Francisco from then-San Diego Bishop Charles F. Buddy.
He wrote “the ‘incidents’ at Indio were more serious than first presented to me, especially inasmuch as the police have made a record of them. You know how word gets around so that you (may) be certain that the police here will be on your trail. … It will be more prudent and more secure for you to return to your own diocese”.
A lawsuit was never filed, and the church never revealed the complaints. No further details of what happened to De Francisco after that have been documented.
De Francisco died in 1990.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Bernardino. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in San Bernardino, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of San Bernardino now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.