FLORIDA
Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos and Lehrman
January 6, 2015
by Adam Horowitz
Rev. Jose Palimattom, a 47-year old Catholic priest assigned to Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, was arrested today for having child pornography on his cell phone and showing the images to a minor. According to police, the priest asked a 14-year old boy from his parish to help him delete pictures from his cell phone. In so doing, the boy discovered dozens of image of nude pre-pubescent boys on the priest’s cell phone with tags such as “little boys” and told his father about what he found. The boy’s father then called the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.
Rev. Palimattom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St. Thomas the Apostle in India who came to the Diocese of Palm Beach from India in late 2014 for a two-year assignment. Under church rules, Rev. Palimattom is under the supervision of Diocese of Palm Beach’s Bishop Gerald Barbarito. Rev. Palimattom lived and worked at Holy Names Catholic Church, located at 345 South Military Trail in West Palm Beach.
Upon being questioned by police, Rev. Palimattom admitted to law enforcement that he viewed child pornography to satisfy his curiosity. He also admitted to having previously gotten into trouble with his religious superior in India for being “involved with a minor male”, but that incident was never reported to law enforcement. The head pastor at Holy Name Catholic Church also told law enforcement that the Diocese of Palm Beach previously directed Palimattom not to have contact with minors without another adult present and that Palimattom was restricted from using Facebook.
According to sexual abuse attorney Adam Horowitz: “If the Diocese of Palm Beach had concerns about Rev. Palimattom’s interactions with minors, they should have immediately removed him from the ministry under their own rules and warned parishioners that he was dangerous. There is no place in the priesthood for people who collect and view child pornography.”
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