Msgr. James T. Booth: Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Msgr. James T. Booth

Ordained: 1946

Assignments:
  • 1947: St. Joseph’s Cathedral, San Diego, CA
  • 1948: Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Descanso, CA
  • 1949: Our Lady of Angels, San Diego, CA
  • 1949: Diocesan Director of Young Men’s Institute, San Diego, CA
  • 1949: Diocesan Father Serra Club
  • 1949-1952: North American College, Rome, Italy (Student)
  • 1953: Patton State Hospital, Patton, CA
  • 1954: College of Liberal Arts, San Diego, CA
  • 1954-1960: Graduate School of Law, San Diego, CA
  • 1954-1967: Chancellor
  • 1954-1969: Nazareth House Orphanage, San Diego, CA
  • 1954-1970: Mission San Diego De Alcala, San Diego, CA
  • 1955-1967: Diocesan Consultors, San Diego, CA
  • 1965-1968: Administrative Council, San Diego, CA
  • 1965-1969: Indian Missions Commission
  • 1970: Building Committee
  • 1971-2011: Unknown
  • 2012: Died

Multiple survivors have come forward alleging child sexual abuse by Fr. James T. Booth, from approximately 1965 to 1970, while he worked at Mission San Diego de Alcala. In 1971, Fr. Booth left the priesthood, allegedly in order to marry a 19-year-old San Diego State University student. Fr. Booth then became an Episcopal priest and worked throughout Central Valley, California until he retired in the 1990s. He has been named in at least two civil lawsuits. Fr. Booth was included in the Diocese of San Diego’s list of priests where the Diocese has received a credible allegation involving sexual abuse of a minor. His exact whereabouts and whether he had access to children from 1971 until his death in 2012 are unknown.