Fr. Michael P. Santillo

Ordained: 1975
Status: Guilty plea

Died: 5/10/2000
Diocese: Diocese of Metuchen NJ

Left the active priesthood in 1992 to care for his parents. Criminally charged in 5/1997 with molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1987. Was employed as an office worker at the time of his arrest at a parish in the Albany, NY diocese. Pleaded guilty in 1999. There are three additional known victims. Sentenced to ten years. Died of cancer in prison in 2000. Three claims were included in a 1/2003 diocesan settlement involving abuse by five priests. Accused in a lawsuit in 12/2020 of grooming then sexually abusing a boy when the boy was in elementary and high school. Santillo allegedly began to ply the boy with alcohol then molest him when he was a teen in 1983, in the the rectory of St. Mary’s in Perth Amboy and during a trip to Disney World.


Return to main database page. See abbreviations and posting policy. Send corrections.

Our Database of Publicly Accused does not state or imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in the database are merely allegations. The U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.