PERU/NEW YORK
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: James Tamburrino was ordained for the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites) in 1998. There are indications that he worked with the Carmelite missions in Peru prior to ordination. In the late 1990s he was assigned to St. Simon Stock parish in the Bronx.
Tamburrino was accused in a March 2000 lawsuit, along with three St. Simon Stock priests, of having sexually abused a teenage boy during 1996-1998. The boy was working as a secretary in the parish rectory where he said the priests plied him with alcohol and “gay child porn,” paid him for sexual favors, had him watch them perform group masturbation, then threatened to harm him if he told. The boy and his family reported the alleged abuse to the archdiocese and the Carmelites in 1999; they said they were pressured to sign a release. All four priests were transferred out of St. Simon Stock the same year. Tamburrino was assigned as chaplain to a psychiatric center while residing at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown NY. The alleged victim claimed he was receiving anonymous harassing phone calls which led him to fear for his life and move out of state. After news reports about the case in June 2001, Tamburrino was suspended from ministry. He continued to be supported by his Order through at least 2002.
Tamburrino was living in Rome, NY in July 2005 when he was arrested for taking erotic photos of a 15-year-old boy at a Rome hotel, and approaching another teen boy for the same purpose. He was convicted in March 2006 and sentenced in June 2006 to 5-15 years in state prison. He is a registered NY State Level 2 Sex Offender.
Ordained: 1998
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