Ex-Nun’s Priest Sex Lawsuit Dismissed

A Los Angeles County judge dismissed an ex-nun’s sexual-abuse lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Thursday and sanctioned her attorney, accusing both of using the court system to seek publicity.

In her lawsuit, Sylvia Abano Martinez Arambulo accused Roman Catholic priest Ernesto Corral Villaroya of raping and impregnating her in the Philippines 19 years ago. She and her son, Jonathan Tomas Martinez Arambulo, now 18, sued the archdiocese in August, alleging a conspiracy to cover up Villaroya’s conduct.

But Superior Court Judge L. Jeffrey Wiatt ruled Thursday that Arambulo lacked evidence that the archdiocese had taken part in any conspiracy and ordered her attorney, George S. Goldberg of Encino, to pay $14,405 in sanctions.

“It appears that this lawsuit was filed to obtain publicity and not for any proper purpose,” Wiatt wrote in his four-page ruling.

Goldberg, Arambulo and her son made public their allegations against the archdiocese at a news conference in late August in the shadow of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.

An archdiocese spokesman said at the time that Villaroya was not a priest in the Los Angeles Archdiocese but during the 1990s lived in Los Angeles and performed priestly functions. He was ordered by the archdiocese to stop.

The judge also ruled that all of the allegations, ranging from fraud to intentional infliction of emotional distress, were barred by the one-year statute of limitations.

Attorney J. Michael Hennigan, who represents the archdiocese, called the courtroom victory “minor.” The alleged rape took place in the Philippines and involved a priest who never worked for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he said.

“This is a frivolous case,” Hennigan said.

Goldberg said Thursday that he planned to appeal the court’s ruling.