Diocese to pay $7M to settle sex-abuse suits

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange said Friday that it will pay nearly $7 million to settle four sexual abuse lawsuits, including one for which the bishop faces contempt of court proceedings for sending a monsignor out of the country before he could testify.

The cases were the first to be filed since 2004, when the diocese reached a record-breaking $100 million settlement with about 90 plaintiffs.

The four lawsuits, the first of which was to go to trial Oct. 15, involved allegations against three lay teachers at Mater Dei High School and Santa Margarita High School, as well as a lay musician at a neighborhood parish.