SYRACUSE (NY)
Syracuse.com
December 10, 2018
By Chris Baker
A Catholic priest who resigned following allegations of sexual abuse was able to go on to a 25-year career as a guidance counselor at a Liverpool middle school. He resigned only after the district learned of the allegations in 2003 and threatened to fire him. He died shortly after.
Donald J. Crosby remained in a position to have daily interaction with children after a teen-aged girl reported instances of sexual abuse to his superior, Monsignor H. Charles Sewall, at a Catholic school in 1974.
The victim came forward again, decades later, amid a national reckoning for abusive priests. She was outraged to learn Crosby was no longer a priest but was instead working in a school.
A diocesan spokeswoman said last week the church had no record of the victim’s first report, or any records of inappropriate behavior by Crosby. Sewall, it seems, never filed a report, and the school district didn’t learn of the allegations until 2003.
Crosby was one of 57 priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse against them who were identified by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse last week. Sewall was also on the list. Both are now dead.
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