A former Catholic priest, charged with 12 counts of child abuse, appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday.
Father Christopher John Cunningham, 60, was arrested in 2021 for allegedly molesting boys between the ages of 10 and 12 while a priest in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cunningham appeared before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler for a brief hearing.
Judge Larry Paul Fidler asked Father Cunningham, who wore a gray suit, if he understood the charges against him and if he understood the court’s ruling for a 60-day trial.
Father Cunningham confirmed that he understood and promptly left the court with his lawyer.
Father Christopher John Cunningham, charged with 12 counts of child abuse, appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday
Cunningham, 60, was arrested in 2021 for allegedly molesting boys between the ages of 10 and 12 while they were priests in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cunningham has been charged with multiple counts of lewd acts against four children while they were working as Catholic priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
Authorities believe some of the victims were abused in the late 1990s at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale, California, including an 11-year-old boy who prosecutors allege Cunningham sexually assaulted him twice.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Cunningham harassed another boy in the child’s home between 1996 and 1998.
Other victims in the early 2000s were abused at Saint Lawrence Mary’s Catholic Church in Redondo Beach, California, where Cunningham had been transferred, the prosecution alleges.
There, between 1998 and 2001, Cunningham allegedly repeatedly abused a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy.
“The victims were innocent children who have spent most of their lives with the trauma caused by the abuse alleged in this case,” Los Angeles County Dist. Attention. George Gascón said in a statement in April.
“My office is committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses and abuses our children, especially if they are in a position of trust,” Gascón added.
“The victims were innocent children who have spent most of their lives with the trauma caused by the abuse alleged in this case,” LA County DA George Gascón said in a statement about the case
Complaints about Cunningham’s behavior first appeared in 1994, but he was not arrested until 2021
Judge Larry Paul Fidler asked Father Cunningham, who wore a gray suit, if he understood the charges against him and if he understood the court’s ruling for a 60-day trial
Father Cunningham confirmed that he understood and promptly left the court with his lawyer
A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the criminal investigation into Cunningham began in 2017 after the sheriff’s department received a sexual misconduct allegation against the former priest.
Allegations against Cunningham first surfaced in 1994, four years after he first entered the priesthood, according to a 2017 lawsuit filed by Pasadena attorney Anthony DeMarcowho has represented several people accusing Cunningham of abuse.
“At Saint Mary’s, Father Cunningham continued his habit of spending an extraordinary amount of time alone with teenage boys. Taking them to the movies, often one-on-one, taking them one-on-one to ice cream,” the suit claims.
“Having them in his parsonage bedroom, often one-on-one. Wrestling with them and hugging them.
“Father Cunningham also regularly discussed sex with teenagers in his religion classes.”
In a statement issued at the time of Cunningham’s arrest, the archdiocese denied prior knowledge of the allegations.
“The Archdiocese was not aware of any information regarding these allegations prior to being notified of the civil lawsuit,” the statement said.
“Today’s announcement of Fr. Cunningham’s arrest is the first time the archdiocese has been made aware of these current criminal allegations.
“The Archdiocese has not been informed of the names of the alleged victims in the current criminal case. The Archdiocese continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement regarding allegations against Fr. Cunningham.”
Cunningham was released from the ministry in 2005 for “border violations unrelated to the current criminal case,” the LA Times reported.
A year prior to his removal, Cunningham allegedly molested another young boy at St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina, according to a separate settled lawsuit, the terms of which were not disclosed.