Rev. Roberto L. Bravo, O.P.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Dominican order, Bravo was investigated in 1999 due to complaints that he had inappropriately touched six teenage girls. He was moved to Salt Lake City, where he continued to have "problems" with teenage girls. Bravo was ultimately sent to live with six other admitted Dominican sex offenders at a seminary in Oakland, CA. He left there in 2005, and left the order. He is last known to have been living in Long Beach, CA.

Ordained
: 1998?

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1998

Oakland bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003)

1999 Holy Rosary

Antioch

Police investigated claims that Bravo "inappropriately touched" six teenage girls. The case was dropped because the girls refused to testify.

CA 2/3

Parish had a school with 502 students and a religious education program with 850 students.

The 1999 Directory is the only one in which Bravo is indexed.

1999

Salt Lake bishop was George Hugh Niederauer (1994-2005)

2000 Newman Center

Salt Lake City

Per the head of the Dominican's Western Province, Bravo had problems with teenage girls in Utah "similar to" those he had in CA.

UT Worked with University of Utah students. This assignment is per news reports.

2000

San Francisco archbishop was William Joseph Levada (1995-2005)

2002 St. Dominic's San Francisco CA   This assignment is per news reports.

2002

Cummins was succeeded by Allen Henry Vigneron (2003-2009)

2005 St. Albert's Priory Oakland CA  

This assignment is per news reports.

Bravo was sent to live at this Dominican House of Formation where he and six other admitted Dominican sex offenders were living. The men were free to come and go, unrestricted. Neighbors were alarmed to find out that the men were living in their midst.

In Feb. 2005 Bravo left St. Albert's after the the Dominicans placed restrictions on him. The Dominicans contacted police.

Bravo left the order and is last known to have been living in Long Beach, CA.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1999)

Admitted Sex Offender Priests Named, ABC7, April 6, 2005
Look at Six Sex Offender Priests Who Live at St. Albert's Priory, Associated Press, April 7, 2005
Abuse Was Common in Religious Orders, By Jeremy Herb and Rob Dennis, San Jose Mercury News, April 1, 2008
Accused Clerics, Contra Costa Times, April 1, 2008



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Bravo's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 21, 2011