Fr. Paul F. Reynolds

Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General’s Report. In 2020 two men filed lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Reynolds as children in the 1970s, at St. Lawrence Parish. Both suits were dismissed due to the statute of limitations. One of the men said that when he was a 9-year-old altar boy in 1974, he had fallen asleep in a pew and awakened to find that Reynolds’ penis was touching his lips. He said he yelled and ran into the woods, hiding until dark. When he went home he found that his mother was on the phone with Reynolds, who asked to talk with him, and that Reynolds told him not to tell. The man said he knew of three other boys he believed were also abused. The other man who sued said that when he was an 8- or 9-year-old altar boy in 1976 or 1977 Reynolds sexually abused him. Reynolds allegedly would constantly touch and grab him, and forced him into performing oral sex. A third man alleged that when he was a 10-year-old altar boy in 1975 Reynolds tried pulled down his pants and underwear, and that the priest was always “touchy feely.” He said he told his parents that day and that his father went to the parish and told Fr. James Lamb what happened. Reynolds was kept in ministry. The man said that when he was in his thirties he told another priest about the incident. Reynolds retired in 2007 and died in 2017.