Fr. Jeremiah M. Spillane
Chaplain at a Catholic high school in Sarasota (Diocese of Venice) when charged in early 1997 with internet solicitation of a 13-year-old boy, who was actually an undercover policeman. Pleaded no contest to charges. Sentenced to two years house arrest and two years’ probation. Admitted abuse in prior assignments in Mexico. Did parish work and taught in schools in Spain, Italy and from 1990 to 1995 in Cozumel, Mexico in the Archdiocese of Yucatan. Dispensed from religious vows in 1998. In March 2021, the Legion of Christ announced that it was adding Spillane to its list of credibly accused priests. It is not clear if that was the result of the 1997 conviction or another more recent allegation. The Florida Sex Offender database lists Spillane’s last reported address as Merida, Yucatan (released from probation in 2005).
- Tampa Tribune 02.11.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 02.12.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 02.22.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 03.07.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 03.27.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 09.05.97
- St Petersburg Times 11.08.97
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune 12.09.97
- Tampa Tribune 04.22.02
- News Press 10.26.03
- Legionaries of Christ List 03.22.21
- CatholicPhilly 03.23.21
- FL Dept of Law Enforcement 02.14.23
Sources:
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