Worcester Diocese denies allegations in Holley case, asks for dismissal

ALAMOGORDO (NM)
Alamogordo Daily News

August 25, 2020

By Nicole Maxwell

The Massachusetts-based Diocese named as a party in a child sexual abuse lawsuit along with two Alamogordo churches, called for dismissal in its response to the complaint.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, in Massachusetts, said the statute of limitations had already expired in the case which accused a priest, Fr. David Holley, of sexually molesting children in Alamogordo.

Attorneys for the diocese also said in response that the lawsuit should have named the bishop and not the diocese. Holley had been incardinated — or working under the jurisdiction of — the Diocese of Worcester on May 15, 1967.

In New Mexico the statute of limitations is six years from the date of an assault against victims between the ages of 13 and 18.

The case was filed in the New Mexico Second Judicial District in Bernalillo County on March 31, 2020, and alleged that a victim was abused by Holley in Alamogordo in the 1970s.

The complainant, John Doe, named the Servants of the Paraclete, St. Jude Parish, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and the Dioceses of Worcester, El Paso and Las Cruces as parties in the lawsuit.

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