Rev. James L. Arimond

Summary of Case: A Milwaukee archdiocesan priest, Arimond was removed from parish ministry in January 1990 after he was accused of and criminally investigated for having sexually assaulted a 15- or 16-year-old boy in the summer of 1989. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 18 months probation and 45 days in the House of Correction, in a work release program. He was allowed to work at the Chancery in an administrative role for years. In 1995 he received his counseling license and went on to work as a professional counselor. He was laicized in 1996. His counseling license was rescinded in 2003 after a newspaper in 2002 wrote of his sexual assault conviction. Arimond retired in 2003 and moved away from Wisconsin.

Ordained: 1965
Laicized: 1996


   

Start Stop Parish Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1965

Milwaukee archbishop was William Edward Cousins (1958-1977)

1968 Immaculate Conception Burlington WI 3/3 Parish had an elementary school with 678-691 students, and a high school with 320-293 students.
1965 1968 St. Theresa's Powers Lake WI   This was a mission of Immaculate Conception in Burlington.
1968 1969 St. Gall's Milwaukee WI 2/2 Parish had a school with 182 students.

1969

Cousins was succeeded by George Rembert Weakland, O.S.B.(1977-2002)

1979 St. Alphonsus Greendale WI 2/3, 2/4, 2/5

Parish had a school with 865-729 students.

Arimond earned a masters degree from the University.of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1973.

1979 1982 Sacred Heart of Jesus Milwaukee WI 1/2 Parish had a school with 260-245 students.
1982 1983 Awaiting Assignment        
1983 1987 St. Bernadette's Milwaukee WI 2/2 Parish had a school with 342-241 students.
1987 1989 St. Frederick's

Cudahy

• Arimond pleaded no contest in July 1990 to having sexually assaulted a 15- or 16- year-old boy in 1988. The boy disclosed the abuse to his parents when he was 18 years old, after they had moved away from the area.

WI 1/1  
1989 1992 Absent on Leave     Per news reports, Arimond worked at the Cousins Center in St. Francis for years after the 1990 sexual assault charge. Arimond was placed on administrative leave in January 1990 after the accusation surfaced that he had sexually assaulted a boy in Cudahy in the summer of 1989. He pleaded no contest in July 1990 and was sentenced to 18 months probation and 45 days in the House of Correction, in a work release program.
1992 1993 Awaiting Assignment       A phone number given for Arimond is 414-769-3496.
1993 1996 On Leave Milwaukee WI  

Arimond is not indexed in the Directories after 1996.

He received his license to practice counseling in the state of Wisconsin in 1995, and went on to work as a professional counselor in Racine.

Arimond was laicized in 1996.  

1996

Weakland was replaced by Timothy Michael Dolan (2002-2009)

2004         An April 2002 news report about Arimond's 1990 conviction prompted the state Department of Regulation and Licensing to investigate, resulting in the rescinding of Arimond's counseling license in July 2003. He then retired and left the state.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1966-1997)

• Priest Pleads No Contest in Sexual Assault of Boy Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1990
• Former Priest Convicted of Sex Assault Working As Counselor, By Marie Rohde, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 17, 2002
• Convicted Ex-Priest Has Left State, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 9, 2003
• Archdiocese of Milwaukee list, July 9, 2004
• List of 43 Abusive Priests Released, By Tom Heinen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [Wisconsin], July 10, 2004
• Archdiocese of Milwaukee Assignment Record accessed February 11, 2021

 


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.

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 Arimond's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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 February 11, 2021.