Ex-Altar Boy Sues Church, Alleges Molestation

A 26-year-old former altar boy on Friday sued a Santa Ana parish and top officials of the Roman Catholic Church, alleging that he had been sexually molested by a priest over seven years.

The civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Ronald Glenane, a county resident, says the alleged abuse occurred at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, 1100 S. Center St., from October, 1974, until December, 1981. The priest named in the suit is Father Eluceterio Ramos, also known as Al Ramos, now 52.

Msgr. Lawrence J. Baird, director of communication with the Diocese of Orange, said he had not seen the lawsuit, which was filed late Friday in Orange County Superior Court, and would not comment on its allegations.

“We’ll have a statement as soon as we have the facts,” Baird said late Friday night.

He said, however, that Father Ramos is now in a pastoral assignment in San Ysidro and is not an active priest with the Diocese of Orange.

Glenane’s attorney, Werner R. Meissner of San Pedro, said he has also heard that Ramos has since left the Santa Ana parish.

Meissner said no law enforcement agency has been notified about the alleged abuse.

According to the suit, Glenane alleges that from age 10 to 17, he was forced by Ramos to commit lewd and sexual acts.

The suit states that he had psychologically repressed the alleged events and did not remember them until March 29, during psychiatric counseling.

Glenane, who was a houseboy as well as an altar boy at the church, alleges in the suit that the abuse went on “continuously for four years and on and off for three years. . . . From the time he was 10 to 14, there were a lot of molestations at the church.”

“The family knew the priest,” Meissner said. “They thought their kid was in good hands with a church figure.”

The amount of damages was not specified, but Glenane is seeking punitive damages as well as recovery of medical and psychiatric expenses, loss of earnings and other costs.

Glenane “has been in different institutions and therapy,” his attorney said.

The suit alleges that the church and its bishops were negligent in the hiring and supervision of Ramos. It names the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Father John Weenhoffer, the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Orange and Los Angeles, Archbishop Thomas Clavel, Pastor Francis Moran and Bishop William Johnson.