A priest who served at a parish in Las Cruces for nine years and the Las Cruces Diocese are facing a lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses the Rev. Ricardo Bauza of sexual battery, alleging he sexually abused a victim in the rectory at St. Helena Catholic Church in Hobbs, New Mexico, in 2016, according to court records.
Before becoming a priest in Hobbs, Bauza was a priest at St. Genevieve Catholic Church in Las Cruces from 2005 to 2014. The lawsuit was filed in Las Cruces on Monday, according to court records.