DUBUQUE (IA)
WZVN - Gulf Coast ABC [Naples FL]
December 18, 2025
By Carson Zorn
Father Leo Riley, a Port Charlotte priest who was facing sexual abuse allegations and a lawsuit, died on Tuesday at 69, the Diocese of Venice announced.
The Diocese of Venice confirmed Father Riley’s death in a statement, but did not have any details on how he died or funeral arrangements.
Riley was previously arrested in April 2024 on capital sexual battery charges following reports of four people being sexually abused by Father Riley from 1984 to 1986, when he was the associate pastor of Resurrection Parish in Dubuque, Iowa.
In October 2024, three men filed a civil lawsuit in Charlotte County against Riley and the Diocese of Dubuque, alleging sexual abuse by Riley in Iowa.
Shortly after his arrest, a man in Sarasota came forward and shared his story of sexual abuse as a child, which he said he suffered at the hands of Riley while attending St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Port Charlotte in the early 2000s. The man, going by John Doe, had filed a civil lawsuit against Riley in 2020.
Riley was set to go to trial in March 2026 for the civil suit brought by Doe.
On July 17, 2024, the capital sexual battery charges following the Iowa allegations were dismissed by an Iowa court. Court documents revealed that the motion to dismiss the charges was granted due to the statute of limitations having expired.
Riley denied all charges, both in Iowa and Charlotte County.
Riley was ordained into the priesthood on May 22, 1982, in the Diocese of Dubuque and was incardinated into the Diocese of Venice in Florida on Dec. 19, 2005.
Riley began his service in the Diocese of Venice in September 2002 and served as parochial vicar of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Port Charlotte, Sacred Heart Parish in Punta Gorda and St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples.
Riley also served as pastor of San Antonio Parish in Port Charlotte from January 2019 to May 2023.