Former Altar Boy Sues Over Alleged Molestation
A former altar boy who said he was molested by his parish priest has filed a civil lawsuit against the Fresno Catholic Diocese and two churches.
Juan Rocha, 27, accused the Rev. Eric Swearingen, a former priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Bakersfield and St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno, of abusing him from about 1985 to 1989.
Rocha is seeking unspecified punitive damages from the diocese and the churches, said his lawyer, Raymond Boucher. Swearingen, who has been a priest in the diocese since 1987, was out of town and unavailable for comment.
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