Rev. Stephen Tarleton Dougherty, S.O.L.T.

Assignment Record– Rev. Stephen Tarleton Dougherty, S.O.L.T.

Summary of Case: Stephen Tarleton Dougherty was ordained for the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity in 2003. He resided at the S.O.L.T. headquarters in Robstown TX and worked in parishes in Mathis and Corpus Christi in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Dougherty was removed from active ministry in December 2011 after the diocese received an allegation that he had engaged in sexual misconduct. In June 2016 he was arrested and indicted by a Grand Jury for felony sexual assault of a child. He pled not guilty. His accuser filed a civil lawsuit in July 2016 claiming Dougherty sexually abused her from 2005-2011, beginning when she was 7 years-old.

Ordained: 2003

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
2003 Diocese of Corpus Christi Bishop was Edmond Carmody (2000-2010).	2010	Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity	Robstown • Dougherty was arrested and indicted by a Grand Jury June 14, 2016 for felony sexual assault of a child. He pled not guilty. His accuser filed a civil lawsuit July 12, 2016 claiming Dougherty sexually abused her from 2005-2011, beginning when she was age 7.	TX
			Mathis	TX		Reportedly did parish work here.
2006 Carmody was succeeded as Corpus Christi bishop by William Michael Mulvey (2010-).	2011	Our Lady of Perpetual Help	Corpus Christi	TX	5/5, 4/5, 3/4, 2/3	Our Lady of Perpetual Help had a religious education program with 343-120 students. Dougherty is not indexed beyond the 2011 Directory. He was reportedly removed from active ministry in December 2011 after the diocese received an allegation that he had engaged in sexual misconduct.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 2004-2011).

• Suit Says Priest Abused Girl for Six Years, SNAP, July 20, 2016
• Diocese of Corpus Christi, Religious Order Failed to Protect Victim, By Fares Sabawi, The Caller-Times, July 20, 2016
• Former Priest Denies Sex Assault Accusations, By Krista M. Torralva, The Caller-Times, July 21, 2016
• Stephen Tarleton Dougherty, Tahira Khan Merritt, July 22, 2016

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Dougherty's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that 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.

This assignment record was last updated on August 2, 2016.