Assignment Record– Rev. John Joseph Daly


Summary of Case:  Daly was accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy at St. Joseph's in Hotlville in 1977. He allegedly picked up the boy and a friend, who were hitchhiking, offered them a place to stay then orally copulated the boy during the night. The boys ran off and went to the police that night. Daly was arrested. The case was dropped after bishop visited the District Attorney. The diocese moved Daly out of the area. He had two prior arrests for sexual molestation of minors, in La Mesa and San Bernardino. Daley died in 1989. A civil suit filed in 2002 was dismissed in January 2007. 

Ordained: 1951
Died: October 17, 1989

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
1951 1968 ? ? ?   There is not a John J. Daly indexed in the Directory as a San Diego diocesan priest until the 1969 volume.

1968

San Diego bishop was Francis James Furey (1966-1969), followed by Leo Thomas Maher (1969-1990).

1969 St. John of the Cross Lemon Grove CA 2/3 Parish had a school with 611 students.
1969 1973 St. Augustine's Eagle Mountain CA 1/1  
1973 1975 St. Joan of Arc Blythe CA 1/2  
1975 1977 St. Joseph

Holtville

• Accused in a 2002 lawsuit against the Sand Diego diocese of having molested a 16-year-old male in 1977. The boy was picked up by Daly while hitchhiking. He, along with a friend, accepted Daly's offer of shelter for the night at the church, where the boy is said to have awakened in the night and discovered that Daly was orally copulating him. The boys reported the incident to the Holtville police the same night, and Daly was arrested. Charges were not filed because the diocese told the County D.A. that Daly would be moved out of the area. The arresting officer later discovered that Daly had been arrested twice before for sexual abuse of minors in La Mesa and San Bernardino. (San Diego Union-Tribune
August 16, 2002)

CA 1/1 The case was dismissed in 2007 before it was to go to trial. (Union-Tribune [San Diego CA]
January 24, 2007)

1977

The San Bernardino diocese was established in 1978, encompassing what had been the northern part of the San Diego diocese. The first San Bernardino bishop was Philip Francis Straling (1978-1995).

1981 Immaculate Conception Colton CA 2/2  
1981 1985 Sacred Heart Riverside CA 1/1  
1985 1986 Holy Family Hesperia CA 2/2
In residence. 		 
1986 1989 Retired Hesperia CA   Daly died Oct. 17, 1989.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1969-1990).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Daly's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with at least one allegation as it is reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on February 25, 2021.