Fr Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos Rene Rodriguez takes his Holy Order Vows and is assigned as a Deacon to serve at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Patterson, CA as well as Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Crows Landing, CA.  Both are parishes located in the Diocese of Stockton, where soon to be Cardinal Mahony served as bishop.  

Multiple priests noted their concerns about seeing Deacon Rodriguez bring a minor into his bedroom room on various occasions.

Fr Carlos Rodriguez is ordained a priest with the order of Vincentian Fathers & Brothers.

His first assignment is as Associate pastor at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Los Angeles, CA

Fr Carlos Rodriguez takes two boys from the parish where he worked on a camping trip to the Grand Canyon.  He molests at least one of the boys on that trip.

One of the boys who attended the Grand Canyon camping trip with Fr Carlos Rodriguez files a police report regarding Fr Carlos' inappropriate conduct.

The Catholic Church sends Fr Carlos Rodriguez to St. Luke Institute in Maryland.  

St. Luke Institute is one of several well known in-patient hospitals that treats pedophiles.  The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has sent many of their accused priests to St. Luke Institute for treatment.

Fr Carlos Rodriguez is assigned to work in the Office of Family Life in Santa Barbara, under the direction of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

It is in the Office of Family Life that Fr Carlos begin to work in the Marriage Encounters Program, a Catholic Program to promote strength in faith and marriage.  Fr Carlos begins working closely with families across the entire Archdiocese of Los Angeles, from Santa Barbara to South Central Los Angeles to San Bernardino and Riverside.

Father Carlos, who by now is known affectionately as Padre Carlos and Padre Carlitos by the children of the families he works with through his assignment in Marriage Encounters, begins spending a lot of time in San Bernardino and Riverside with the Spanish speaking Catholic communities.

He begins saying masses, including baptisms, funerals, and marriages, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine and St. Anthony Catholic Church, both in Riverside, CA.

The Order of the Vincentian Fathers & Brothers draft a letter to recognize that Fr Carlos Rodriguez is saying masses at different Catholic Churches in the Diocese of Orange.

One month later, a meeting is held regarding Fr Carlos Rodriguez celebrating masses in San Bernardino area.

The Vincentian Provincial Council recognizes that Fr Carlos Rodriguez was celebrating masses in San Bernardino regularly.  They order him to stop while, at the same time, stress that they wish to keep a positive relationship with him.

The Vincentian Provincial receives a call from the Office of Marriage Encounters asking permission for Fr Rodriguez to serve on their leadership team.

The Vincentian Provincial reports continued financial support to Fr. Carlos Rodriguez and that he continues to portray himself as a priest in public and on documents.

Fr Carlos Rodriguez is criminally charged with Lewd and Lascivious Acts on a Child, California Penal Code 288(a).  The charges stem from a report of a man who claimed to have been molested multiple time by Fr Carlos at a church in Los Angeles.  The man tells of a story of traveling with Fr Carlos and one other boy, the man's cousin, and witnessing Fr Carlos fondle his cousin's penis.  The charges are dismissed.

Fr Carlos Rodriguez is arrested in by Santa Paula Police under a Los Angeles Police Department arrest warrant and criminally charged, again, with Lewd and Lascivious Acts on a Child, California Penal Code 288(a).  This time the charges include a special circumstance of having committed the crime while occupying a special position of trust.

The charges stem from three boys of a family who grew very close with Fr Carlos while Fr Carlos said masses at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Paula, CA.  The boys' parents worked closely with Fr Carlos in the Marriage Encounters program.  The boys were alter servers at the church.

The Superior Court of California, Ventura County, in The People of the State of California vs. Carlos Rene Rodriguez, convicts Fr Carlos on all counts of child sexual abuse.  He sentenced to time in prison and is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.