HARTFORD (CT)
WTNH-TV, ABC-8 [New Haven CT]
September 2, 2025
By Lauren Drapeau
A civil complaint has been filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford for allegations stating a late New Haven priest sexually assaulted an 8-year-old boy at gunpoint in 1988.
The civil lawsuit, which was filed on July 7 by the victim, stated that the late Rev. Howard Nash sexually assaulted him while the two of them were on a ski trip at Nash’s private home in Vermont.Hartford Archdiocese agrees to $2.4 million settlement with sexual abuse victim
At the time, Nash was a priest at St. Bernadette’s Church on Townsend Avenue in New Haven, which was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The child was baptized by Nash and his family had been devout Catholics, raising him within the church, according to the civil complaint.
Nash was also present at family social events, holidays and barbecues hosted by the victim’s grandparents.
The civil complaint states that Nash began telling the victim about his house in Vermont at one of these family gatherings, knowing that the boy had recently taken an interest in skiing. Arrangements were made for him to visit Nash for a weekend and ski at Mount Snow.
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The trip was planned for the early months of 1988, according to the complaint. They drove up to the home on Friday afternoon. The next day, Nash allegedly taught the boy how to shoot a gun while aiming at targets consisting of aluminum cans and empty glass jars.
The victim claims that while he was given his own bedroom in the home, Nash entered the room multiple times throughout the night and sexually assaulted him using the same gun from earlier that day. According to the complaint, Nash smelled of alcohol during the incident.Lawsuit filed against Archdiocese of Hartford over alleged sexual abuse
The complaint states that the next day, on Sunday, weather conditions were not suitable for skiing, and Nash drove the victim back to his home in Connecticut. Nash allegedly told him that whatever he thought happened was a nightmare, and that he better forget all about it.
Nash was ordained in 1961 and was appointed to serve at St. Bernadette’s Church in 1984 by the Archbishop of Hartford at the time.
The complaint states that the Archdiocese had a duty to use reasonable care to prevent priests working within the Archdiocese from sexually assaulting, abusing or exploiting minor children.
It further claims that the Archdiocese purposefully and intentionally concealed all evidence of an ongoing sexual assault problem between priests and minors within the church. Despite allegedly being aware of the situation between Nash and the victim, they continued to allow him and other accused priests to work in the Archdiocese.
Nash died in 2001, although the complaint states that he was present at almost every family gathering at the victim’s grandparents’ house until then.
The complaint claims that injuries and damages sustained by the victim were the result of the negligence and carelessness of the Archdiocese.
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“As a result of the negligence of the Archdiocese of Hartford, the plaintiff suffered serious and permanent psychological and emotional injuries directly caused by the sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual exploitation by Nash,” the document states.
A few of the many failures of the Archdiocese are cited below by the civil complaint:
- Failure to develop and enforce a policy preventing priests from having minors in their private homes, sleeping over their private homes
- Failure to keep a record of priests who owned private homes
- Failure to adequately supervise Nash in his interactions with minors
- Failure to adequately remove Nash from his position when it had reason to know that he was a danger to minors
- Failed to investigate and report suspicious conduct
- Failure to evaluate the mental fitness of Nash to serve as a priest and have contact with minors
- Failure to ensure that Nash was never alone with young boys at any time.
The Archdiocese responded to the aforementioned allegations with the following statement:
“It is the longstanding policy of the Archdiocese of Hartford to not comment publicly on abuse allegations and / or settlements. The Archdiocese of Hartford continues to apologize and work with victims of clergy sexual abuse and their families to bring them a lasting healing. Archbishop Coyne and his staff are committed to doing all that is humanly possible to ensure that this never happens again and that our churches are safe places for children and families at all times.”
Nash was previously named on a list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.
The civil suit alleges that both the Archdiocese of Hartford and Saint Pio of Pietrelcina Parish Corporation should be held accountable for counts of recklessness and negligence. St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish Corporation is named solely due to a corporate merger with St. Bernadette’s Church in 2020.
A press conference discussing the civil complaint will be held at the Omni Hotel on Temple Street in New Haven on Thursday at 11 a.m. The victim’s attorney will be in attendance.
More information regarding clerical sexual abuse of minors can be found here on the Archdiocese of Hartford’s website.