Fr. William Tanguay

Parish priest; involved in ministry with Hmong people. Named publicly as accused by the Diocese of Providence on its list 7/1/2019. Also worked in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Diocese of Charlotte. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General’s Report, which shows Tanguay to be the subject of allegations that he solicited four teenagers and a young man for sex between 1965 and 1987. All but one were homeless or from poor families. Tanguay would reportedly offer them food and a place to stay; he would give some of his victims money after performing oral sex on them, or restrain and beat them. The abuse was said to have sometimes involved drugs and alcohol. One accuser said that Tanguay was well-known to the homeless boys in the neighborhood, many of whom were similarly abused by the priest. Per diocesan records, a first report of abuse by Tanguay was received in 3/2000. He was suspended in 6/2000, sent to St. John Vianney Center in PA for a psychiatric evaluation, then returned to active ministry. In 6/2002, after several more allegations, Tanguay requested a leave of absence and his faculties were withdrawn. He relocated to Thailand and became employed as a schoolteacher. He admitted to having had sex in RI with people he had picked up on the street. One of his alleged Providence victims received a settlement in 2005. Tanguay was granted retirement in 2008. He returned to RI in 2023.