BRIDGEPORT (CT)
Patch
May 3, 2019
By Rich Scinto
A former Diocese of Bridgeport priest who reportedly impregnated a 16-year-old student in the late 1980’s will keep his job as a New Jersey teacher after a state arbitrator ruled in his favor.
Joseph DeShan was removed from the ministry in 1999 after becoming a priest just two years prior, according to Diocese records. He was laicized in 1999. He began teaching in Cinnaminson Public Schools in 1996.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, and we are currently evaluating what options we have moving forward,” Cinnaminson Superintendent of Schools Stephen Cappello said.
He wasn’t charged with any crimes because the woman told her story after the statute of limitations in Connecticut had expired, according to the Harold J. Gerr Law Firm.
Once the alleged pregnancy story became public, he was placed on administrative leave by the Cinnaminson Public School District Board of Education for about three weeks before being allowed to return to work, according to court records.
Sixteen years later, the school district filed tenure charges asking for DeShan’s removal for conduct unbecoming a staff member. The complaint specifically relates one instance in which DeShan told a female student, “Look at me. Let me see your pretty green eyes. You don’t see them too much anymore.”
The student reported that the comment made her feel uncomfortable, and that DeShan made the comment in a “weird voice.”
The complaint also claims many parents are asking for their students to be removed from his class, calling him a “rapist,” a “pedophile” and asking the district to “please protect our children.”
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