NEW YORK
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: George Boxelaar was a native of Holland, ordained at some point for the Carmelite Order. He was in the U.S. as early as 1954, assigned to the Carmelite’s priory in Mantzville PA 1954-56, then to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Middletown NY 1956-57. The Official Catholic Directory shows a gap in his assignments 1957-62, after which he is shown again as at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel for many years, until 1985. Boxelaar was involved with a number of the mission parishes affiliated with the parish; it is not clear whether he was assigned to all of the missions or to the parish’s stations.
In 1973 a 7-year-old boy told his father that Boxelaar forced his hand down the boy’s pants during confession at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish school. The boy’s father reportedly confronted Boxelaar, who denied misconduct. The boy’s mother contacted a lawyer and some mothers of other boys at the school; the mothers said Boxelaar had also molested their boys, but they wanted to keep it quiet. The boy’s family decided not to press charges so that their son would not have to testify. Another mother complained to the church about Boxelaar in 1981, and again in 1985. Boxelaar threatened her with excommunication if she ‘created scandal.’ Along with other parents of boys allegedly molested by the priest, the mother went to state police. When the parents were told their sons would have to testify, they decided not to press charges. Boxelaar was quietly sent to Holland to “retire.” He died in 1990.
In 2002, after news reports of Boxelaar’s abuse of little boys, at least 25 more men came forward to say that they, too, were sexually abused as children by the priest. Carmelite Provincial, Rev. Michael Driscoll, acknowledged that the Order had received one complaint about Boxelaar in the 1970s, and five in the 1980s.
Ordained: ?
Retired: 1985
Died: 1990
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.