FALL RIVER (MA)
WJAR-TV, NBC-10 [Providence RI]
October 11, 2023
By CAL DYMOWSKI
Man who says he survived James Porter’s abuse speaks out
A survivor of clergy abuse is sharing his story and encouraging others to do the same more than 60 years after claims that he was abused in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River.
The man said at a news conference Wednesday that he was sexually abused at a church in Attleboro about 1960. He said he’s lived with the pain and trauma for years, but finally felt brave enough to share his story.
Claude Leboeuf, 70, who now lives in Providence, said he was sodomized by the Rev. James Porter when he was 8 years old.
Porter was the pedophile priest who pleaded guilty in 1993 to molesting 28 children and was accused of abusing dozens more while working in the diocese in the 1960s and 1970s.
Leboeuf said the experience left him isolated for much of his life, and he struggled with friendships and emotional connections.
He recently settled with the diocese for a figure only described to NBC 10 News as “in the mid-five figures.”
Today, he runs a priest abuse survivors’ group in Cumberland.
It’s that work that’s given him the confidence to help share what he went through.
“I would feel sick if I was to say it’s just about me and there’s no sense in coming forward,” Leboeuf said. “My life was hurt immensely as a result of my abuse in many ways, so I’m coming forward now to try and change that so that I’m not a passive victim anymore.”
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian joined Leboeuf at the news conference and called on Massachusetts to eliminate the statute of limitations in civil child sexual abuse cases to hold institutions accountable and to give victims a chance to heal better.
The diocese released a statement in response.
“The actions of former priest James Porter decades ago are a painful reality in the history of the Diocese of Fall River. Through its Victim Assistance outreach, the Diocese of Fall River offers supportive services to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their families throughout the legal process and continuing after a conclusion is reached,” the diocese said.
The diocese said anyone seeking assistance can contact Carolyn Shipp, the director of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance, at 508-985-6508.