ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Diocese has been hit with more lawsuits by men who say they were abused by priests when they were children.
The documents only identified the men as John Does 1, 2 and 3. Each of them claimed the priests would get groom them, isolate them and abuse them.
At times, though, they said the abuse was far more flagrant and others in the community and within the church hierarchy knew about what was happening.
Two of the lawsuits named Bob Hoeffer as the abuser. Hoeffner was already accused of abuse by multiple men, including one who shot and killed Hoeffner and his sister in Palm Bay in 2024. The men said the abuse happened in the 2010’s.
The new claims against Hoeffner are older, dating back to the 1980’s. The victims said Hoeffer was known to live with boys and threatened to quit when he was questioned about the practice.
They said Hoeffner would engage in spiritual “therapy” or “prayer” sessions with his sister that were designed to be sexually arousing.
At one point, the lawsuits claimed a nun told Hoeffner his behavior was not appropriate in the eyes of the Diocese, and separately, a mother warned Hoeffner to stay away from her son when Hoeffner publicly kissed the boy on the lips.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Diocese leaders said they’re investigating the claims.
“We reiterate that the Diocese of Orlando was not made aware of any allegations of abuse during Fr. Hoeffner’s pastoral leadership or after he retired in 2016,” Diocese spokeswoman Jennifer Drow wrote in an email.
The third lawsuit was filed against George Zina, who worked in the Dr. Phillips community in the 2000’s. The victim said the abuse happened in two different churches and in Zina’s car.
“ZINA’s grooming of Plaintiff also included ZINA telling Plaintiff that God chooses one altar server to be with the priest in a same-sex relationship that God approves of,” the documents said.
Zina no longer works in Florida. WFTV reached out to him and his secretary at the church he most recently was know to work at for a response to the claims.
Despite being named in the lawsuit against Zina, the Diocese said he never worked for them.
“Zina... was not a priest of the Diocese of Orlando and was not employed by the Diocese,” Drow wrote. “We will continue to pray for all involved in these matters.”
The lawsuits were filed by the same firm that initiated the original claims against Hoeffner in late May. In a text conversation, the lead attorney, Jenny Rossman, said John Does 1 and 2 were inspired to come forward after her firm held a press conference about the priest with the originally known victim, Shawn Teuber.
Each of the three new lawsuits is asking for compensation ranging from $10 million to $25 million.
This article has been updated to include the Diocese’s response and information from the victims’ attorney.
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