A former Catholic priest accused of molesting 12 children appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday.
Father Christopher John Cunningham, 60, was arrested in 2021 on charges of molesting boys aged 10 to 12 while he was a priest in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cunningham appeared before Judge Larry Paul Fidler in Los Angeles Superior Court for a brief hearing.
Judge Larry Paul Fiedler asked Father Cunningham, who was wearing a gray suit, if he understood the charges against him and the court’s ruling to go to trial within 60 days.
Father Cunningham confirmed that he understood and immediately left the court with his lawyer.
Father Christopher John Cunningham, accused of abusing 12 children, appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday.
Cunningham, 60, was arrested in 2021 on charges of molesting boys aged 10 to 12 while a priest in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cunningham has been accused of multiple sexual acts against four children while serving as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Authorities believe the molestation took place at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale, Calif., in the late 1990s, including an 11-year-old boy who prosecutors allege Cunningham sexually assaulted twice.
Cunningham molested another boy at the children’s home between 1996 and 1998, according to the district attorney’s office.
Other victims were molested in the early 2000s at St. Lawrence Mary’s Catholic Church in Redondo Beach, California, where Cunningham was reassigned, the prosecution’s suit said.
There, Cunningham allegedly repeatedly abused a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy between 1998 and 2001.
“The victims are innocent children who have lived much of their lives with trauma caused by the alleged abuse in this case,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon said in a statement in April.
Gascon added, ‘My office is committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses and takes advantage of our children, especially when they are in a position of trust.
LA County DA George Gascon said in a statement about the case, ‘The victims are innocent children who have spent much of their lives dealing with the trauma caused by the abuse alleged in this case.
Allegations about Cunningham’s behavior first surfaced in 1994 but he was not arrested until 2021.
Judge Larry Paul Fiedler asked Father Cunningham, who was wearing a gray suit, if he understood the charges against him and the court’s ruling to go to trial within 60 days.
Father Cunningham confirmed that he understood and immediately left the court with his lawyer
A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said the criminal investigation against Cunningham began in 2017 after the sheriff’s department received allegations of sexual misconduct against the former priest.
The allegations against Cunningham first came to light in 1994, four years after he first joined the priesthood, according to a 2017 lawsuit filed by Pasadena attorney Anthony DiMarco, who has represented several people who have accused Cunningham of abuse.
At ‘St. Mary’s’, Father Cunningham continued his practice of spending extraordinary time alone with teenage boys. Taking them to the movies, often one at a time, taking them out for ice cream’ the lawsuit alleges.
‘They were placed in rectory bedrooms, often one after the other. Wrestle with them and hug them.
‘Father Cunningham regularly discussed sexuality with teenagers in his religious education classes.’
In a statement at the time of Cunningham’s arrest, the archdiocese denied prior knowledge of the allegations.
The statement said, ‘The Archdiocese was not aware of any information regarding these allegations prior to advising of the civil suit.’
‘Today’s announcement by Fr. Cunningham’s arrest marks the first time the archdiocese has been notified of these current criminal charges.
‘The Archdiocese has not been advised of the names of the alleged victims in the current criminal case. The Archdiocese continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement regarding the allegations made against Fr. Cunningham.’
Cunningham was removed from the ministry in 2005 for ‘limitations violations, unrelated to the current criminal matter,’ the LA Times reported.
A year before his removal, Cunningham allegedly molested another young man at St. Louis de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina, according to a separate settled case, the terms of which were not disclosed.
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