Fresno-area priest dies seven months after being named in church’s sexual misconduct probe
A longtime San Joaquin Valley Catholic priest died over the weekend.
Supporters called the Rev. Eric Swearingen a great man, but sexual misconduct allegations dogged him for years and key questions remained unanswered at the time of his death.
Swearingen, 58, died Saturday after a lengthy illness. Church officials declined to comment on his medical condition.
“Our focus, and sole focus, is on comforting the family, friends and parishioners that are deeply mourning the passing of Fr. Eric Swearingen,” Teresa Dominguez, chancellor for the Diocese of Fresno, said in an emailed statement.
His more than three decades of service included postings in Fresno, Bakersfield, Atwater and Lemoore and, most recently, Visalia.
Swearingen’s death comes seven months after he was placed on leave amid renewed investigations into decades-old sexual abuse allegations. Dominguez declined to say whether Swearingen was still on administrative leave at the time of his death.
Claims involving Swearingen and an altar boy came to light in 2006 when the alleged victim sued the priest. Church officials in 2010 rejected a jury’s finding that Swearingen likely had abused an altar boy beginning in the late 1980s and eventually settled the case. Church leaders conducted a separate inquiry and determined the allegations were not credible.
Swearingen kept his job as a priest and supporters praised his work.
‘He will be missed’
“Fr. Eric was a gifted administrator and pastor who could relate to all age groups,” his obituary reads. “Fr. Eric had a keen sense of humor and was fond of playing practical jokes. He enjoyed cooking and celebrating with friends his successes in the kitchen or at the grill. His home was a welcoming place and would often be a gathering spot for his priest brothers.”
According to his obituary, he served in the military as a USAF National Guard Chaplain.
“Fr. Eric was the best,” wrote Kristin Worobey Carrasco on a comment on a post from the Holy Spirit Church in north Fresno. “He made such a difference in all of our lives. He will be missed.”
Divine Grace Richardson, another person commenting on the post, wrote, “You will be missed Fr. Eric. You were a wonderful priest.”
“He was a great Man and even a Greater Priest to those who really knew and loved him,” Cy Athans wrote.
The misconduct allegations resurfaced last year when Swearingen’s name was added to a list of at least seven Fresno Diocese priests who were placed on leave over the summer by the newly-appointed Bishop Joseph V. Brennan.
At the time of the announcement, Brennan acknowledged Swearingen’s supporters would be upset with the decision since Swearingen was “very seriously ill.” But he also said the move was necessary in light of “detailed information” related to the civil case that was brought to his attention following a file review. Church officials have not elaborated on the nature of that information.
Juan Rocha, the former altar boy at the center of the claims against Swearingen, said the priest abused him multiple times between 1989 and 1993 at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield. While jurors in 2006 believed Swearingen had abused Rocha, they failed to reach a verdict on whether the church officials knew of the abuse while it was happening.
A rosary for Swearingen will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Mary’s Church in Visalia. A mass of Christian burial will be held at noon Friday at St. Mary’s.
Swearingen most recently served at three churches in Visalia, which included The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Family and St. Charles Borromeo. He also served at St. Thomas the Apostle in Goshen.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 12:21 PM.
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