11-26-2011 Colorado:A child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of San Angelo was settled Nov. 18 for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit stemmed from allegations a former altar boy repeatedly was raped by the Rev. David Espitia as he was assigned at various churches throughout West Texas.
Espitia was found dead in his rectory June 13, 2003, just days after he told Bishop Michael Pfeifer of allegations coming forth against him. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, and the Colorado City Police Department later found hundreds of homosexual and child pornography images on his computer, according to court documents.
The assaults, according to plaintiff attorney Tahira Khan Merritt, spanned between 1994 to 2003, beginning when the boy was 7 or 8 until he was 16. Espitia was parochial vicar at St. Anthony and St. Joseph Catholic churches in Odessa, director of vocations and director of seminarians for the diocese and pastor at St. Ann's Parish in Colorado City, according to a press release from the plaintiff.
"Those assaults were never proven in any way legally; they were allegations," Pfeifer said. "We feel we could have defended ourselves had it gone on to the full process of trial."
