Chronology of Abuse Attributed to Ramos Begins in 1974

Orange County Register
October 16, 2003

[See also "Forgive Me for Using You" and Lawsuit Says Ex-Priest Admits Abusing Dozens.]

Eleuterio Ramos has been accused in lawsuits and admitted in police interviews this year to molesting at least 25 boys during his years as a priest in the Diocese of Orange. Here is a summary:

1966: Ramos, 26, begins service as a priest in Los Angeles.

1974: Ramos molests an 8-year-old boy, according to a 1991 lawsuit. In 1974 Ramos was a priest in Los Angeles. The molestation continued until after the boy was 18. In a letter submitted with the 1991 lawsuit, Ramos admitted molesting the boy. The Diocese of Orange settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum in 1993.

1974: Ramos is accused in 1994 lawsuit of molesting another 8-year-old altar boy, James Rogan, who alleged that the molestation continued until he was 19. The diocese settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum in 1994.

1975: The diocese moves Ramos to St. Joseph Church in Placentia.

1976: A police report from May 2003 says Ramos admitted he molested a 12-year-old boy in the rectory at St. Joseph. In the same report, Ramos admitted molesting a 13-year-old boy at least 10 times in motels in Orange and San Diego, also in 1976.

1978: The diocese moves Ramos to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Santa Ana.

1978: Ramos admits molesting a 14-year-old boy numerous times until the victim was in his 20s, according to the May police report.

1979: Ramos is sent to Massachusetts for psychological treatment.

March 1980: Ramos is moved to St. Angela Merici Church in Brea.

July 1980: Ramos is moved to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra.

1983-88: Ramos admits in the May police report to fondling a 12-year-old boy numerous times at movie theaters and in motels in Orange and San Diego.

1984: Ramos is accused in a lawsuit filed Wednesday of taking an 11-year-old boy to a San Diego motel and allowing three men to bind, blindfold and have sex with the boy. Last May, police say, Ramos denied allowing other men to molest the boy in the motel.

1985: Ramos is moved to Tijuana.

1991: Ramos is suspended from the priesthood.

2003: Church begins process to strip Ramos of priestly collar.

March 2003: Orange police begin investigating Ramos.

May 2003: Ramos admits in taped police interviews to molesting at least 20 other boys in addition to incidents mentioned above.

June 2003: The U.S. Supreme Court invalidates California's extension of the statute of limitations for child molestation, shielding Ramos from prosecution. Orange police stop investigating.

Oct. 15, 2003: The man who says he was molested as a boy in 1984 by Ramos and the other men in the San Diego motel sues Ramos and the Diocese of Orange.