Br. William Farrington – Diocese of San Jose

| Dec 20, 2020 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Brother William Farrington

Diocese of San Jose (Jesuits)

William Farrington Horowitz Law

Ordained: 1964

Retired:  2002

Assignment History:

  • 1964-1974: Bellarmine College Preparatory (San Jose, CA)
  • 1974-1976: Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
  • 1976-1987: Jesuit High School (Carmichael, CA)
  • 1987-2002: Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, CA)
  • 2003-current: Sacred Heart Jesuit Center (Los Gatos, CA)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Brother William Farrington:

Br. William Farrington was ordained a Jesuit brother in 1964, who served in the Diocese of San Jose. He supervised students who lived on campus and was also a swimming coach at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California. According to media reports, in 1987, he was removed from his position when he was accused on two occasions of child sexual abuse.

In 2002, Farrington was removed from his position at Loyola Marymount University and officially removed from ministry when the allegation from Jesuit High School surfaced. In 2003, he was sent to Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Los Gatos, California to live under supervision.

According to media reports, in 2012, a 1968 graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory in  San Jose told the Jesuits that Farrington sexually abused him at the school in 1987 when he was a freshman.  More former students said they had also been abused after a letter was written from the school to alumni.

In 2018, Farrington was included on the Jesuits West Province list named as being credibly accused of child sex abuse. It notes abuse being reported in 2003 and 2012 in reference to abuse that took place from 1963-1970, 1973-1975, 1981-1986

In 2020, a lawsuit was filed claiming that Farrington abused a student from Bellarmine College Preparatory in the 1960s.  Two additional lawsuits filed in 2022 accuse Farrington of assaulting two young students while performing unnecessary hernia checks at the infirmary.

He currently lives under supervision in Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Los Gatos, California.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Jose in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of San Jose now have legal options due to a temporary change in the law, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.

Contact us toll-free at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.