Fr. John Copenhaver

Ordained: 1988
Status: Accused

Died: 04/4/2021
Diocese: Diocese of Lincoln NE

Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 4/2/2019. Per the 11/2021 NE Attorney General’s report, there are two known victims. One reported to Bishop Bruskewitz in 2003 that Copenhaver sexually abused him at ages 15-16 in the early 1990s; the other was an adult male in his mid-20s who reported his recent abuse by Copenhaver to a parish priest in 2004. Copenhaver was allowed to stay in ministry until 2012, when his faculties were revoked and public ministry restricted. Copenhaver died in 4/2021.


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