Rochester Diocese Board says sex-abuse allegations against Auburn priest are ‘credible and true’

AUBURN (NY)
The Post-Standard

By Charles Ellis / The Post-Standard

Auburn, N.Y. — Allegations of sexual abuse by a priest who served for five years in Auburn have been found to be “credible and true” by Rochester’s Diocesan Review Board.

Now, that priest could be defrocked.

The Rev. Dennis Shaw is alleged to have abused two boys under the age of 16 when he was serving at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Rochester in the late 1970s and 1980s. One of the men alleges that the abuse occurred multiple times over a period of several years.

When the initial announcement of an investigation into the charges was made in December 2010, he was placed on administrative leave and not allowed to function as a priest or exercise any public ministry. The Vatican will review the case, the diocese announced from the pulpit at its Masses last weekend.

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