Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego

The sexual abuse scandal in San Diego diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.

Abuse cases occurring before 1990
Diocesan officials acknowledged that these cases, except for a few, were legitimate and mostly occurred before 1990. The few that were not considered legitimate were placed in the global settlement and, due to the settlement, will not be challenged.

Attempt to file for bankruptcy
On February 27, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard. San Diego became the largest diocese to file for bankruptcy.

198 million dollar settlement
On September 7, 2007, The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego agreed to pay $198.1 million to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy, the 2nd-largest payment by a diocese, terminating four years of settlement talks in state and federal courts.

Allegations against the bishop
Robert Brom was accused of coercing a student into a sexual relationship at a seminary in Minnesota, where he once was rector and later headed the Diocese of Duluth. The alleged victim reportedly claimed that the incident of abuse occurred "in a coffin along with other bishops". Due to the "unusual" allegation, no criminal charges were brought at the time and, according to Brom, the settlement was made to offer psychological assistance for the alleged victim.