BishopAccountability.org has launched a
project to gather and post the assignment records of every U.S. Catholic priest who has been
accused of sexual abuse since 1940, so that vulnerable communities can be identified and
bishops' transfer policies can be determined.
See below for a brief description of assignment records and their importance, easy ways that you can help with this project, and our initial list of assignment records. For a more detailed account of assignment record research and how you can volunteer, see our guide.
Assignment Records: Why They Are Important
An assignment record lists all the
diocesan and parish appointments of a priest, including telltale periods of sick leave. A detailed
assignment record, like this assignment
record of John Geoghan created by the Boston Globe, identifies populations that have
been placed at risk, and is also cross-referenced with a list of accusations, so that the transfer
policies of the priest's bishops can be evaluated. By identifying a priests' seminary class and the
colleagues with whom he has worked, an assigment record can also begin to identify the circle of
colleagues who kept the priest's activities secret and who might even have been involved in the
abuse themselves.
Assignment records are all around us:
* Newspaper
accounts of the crisis
* Diocesan
records
* Investigative
files
* Obituaries and
other old newspaper reports
But these records are dispersed and difficult to find, and
complete assignment records for most accused priests are not publicly available. We urge the U.S.
bishops to publish detailed assignment records with treatment episodes and accusation dates for
every abuser. In the meantime, we are undertaking this work of research and collection ourselves.
See our initial
collection of assignment records below.
Volunteering
for the Assignment Record Project
Please send us any assignment records that
know about or come across:
* In your daily newspaper reading
* In your personal experience, if
you are a survivor of abuse
* In the research that you've done, if you are a lawyer or a reporter
working in this area
If you would like to join the Service Record Project as a volunteer --
for a few hours, or a few hours per week, or anything in between -- please read our guide to
service record research, and email us
to let us know you're interested. This is work that you can do at a local Catholic college library
or at most central city libraries, and you can email, snail mail, or even phone us the
results.
List of Assignment Records
The staff at
BishopAccountability.org has begun to assemble a library of assignment records for accused priests
and others who figure in the crisis.Some we have developed ourselves from the Official
Catholic Directory, diocesan documents, and investigative reports. Others were created by
lawyers and investigative reporters. Others were created by the dioceses themselves and relinquished
under subpoena, or were prepared by the dioceses in response to investigation by law enforcement.
Viewed by Last Name:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Total Individuals: 302
Return to main database page. See abbreviations and posting policy. Send corrections.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Denver CO
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA
Diocese: Diocese of Stockton CA
Diocese: Archdiocese of Louisville KY
Named publicly as accused by attorney Mitchell Garabedian in 7/21. Carlin allegedly sexually abused an altar boy, age 9, in 1966-67, at St. John Vianney Parish in South Burlington. He died 1/16/80, at age 50.
Diocese: Diocese of Fall River MA
Diocese: Archdiocese of New York NY
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL
Diocese: Diocese of Sioux Falls SD
Charbonneau's name is included in 10/21 on the Franciscans' Holy Name Province's list of those with substantiated allegations against them of child sexual abuse. No details provided as to when or where the abuse occurred. He died in 1984. (Placing him for now in the New York archdiocese, where the Province is based.
Diocese: Diocese of Spokane WA
Diocese: Archdiocese of Santa Fe NM
Named publicly as credibly accused by the Fresno diocese on its list in 8/21. Per his obituary, Chavez was placed on permanent medical leave of absence in 2017. He died in 2020.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA
Accused in a 6/20 lawsuit of sexually abusing a minor from about 1979 to 1983 at St. Patrick's in Troy. Reportedly in 8/21, Ciotoli stepped down from public ministry pending the investigation of an allegation of sexual abuse first reported under the Child Victims Act. Per the diocese, Ciotoli "maintains his innocence."
Diocese: Archdiocese of Denver CO
Diocese: Diocese of Stockton CA
Collier's name is included in 10/21 on the Franciscans' Holy Name Province's list of those with substantiated allegations against them of child sexual abuse. No details provided as to when or where the abuse occurred. He died in 1972. (Placing him for now in the New York archdiocese, where the Province is based.)
Diocese: Diocese of Oakland CA
Diocese: Diocese of Brooklyn NY
Diocese: Archdiocese of St. Louis MO
Diocese: Diocese of Spokane WA
Diocese: Archdiocese of Boston MA
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA
Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese of Richmond in July 2021. Creamer was incardinated into the Diocese of Arlington when it was formed in 1974. The abuse occurred prior to 1974. Died November 16, 1991.
From the Diocese of Istmina-Tado, Colombia. Worked in in the Diocese of Arlington VA 1994 until 1997, when removed for sexual misconduct with a young woman. Cristancho arranged in vitro fertilization of a woman in Colombia using his sperm. Triplets were born in 11/01 (2 boys, 1 girl). He was assigned to the Archdiocese of Baltimore 1999-2002, at St. Ignatius in Forest Hill. The archdiocese revoked Cristancho's faculties in 7/02, reportedly because he refused a new assignment, later learning that he had fathered triplets. In 2006 DSS found that he had sexually abused of both of the boys, including oral sex. Their mother reported a possible third victim. Maryland appeals court gave custody to the mother in 10/08. Cristancho denied abuse. In 9/17 he was arrested, charged with making and possessing child pornography. Detectives found photos of little boys on Cristancho's electronic devices in his home, and on a memory card in a safe. He pleaded guilty 10/4/21 to "coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity" and admitted to creating nude images of four other children. His victim was ages 11-13 when abused 2002 through at least Fall 2003. Cristancho met the boy at St. Ignatius parish. Sentencing scheduled for 12/10/21.
Crosby entered the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) in 1952. She was an elementary school principal for 30 years, working in Spokane, Edmonds, Tacoma, Seattle and Everett. In 1999 she surrendered her teaching credentials after an allegation surfaced against her of sexual abuse in the 1980s. She died in 7/07. Her name was included on the archdiocese's list 1/15/16 of clergy and religious with established, admitted or credible accusations against them of sexual abuse of a minor. In 7/21 the archdiocese announced that it had settled two cases with claims of sexual abuse by Crosby in the 1980s, while she was principal of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Seattle.
Monsignor. Died in 1972. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese of Fresno on its list in 8/21.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Louisville KY
Accused in a lawsuit filed in July 2021 under the NY Child Victims Act of sexually abusing an altar boy while assigned to Sacred Heart in West Brighton, beginning in 1978 when the boy was age 11. Per the alleged victim, Curley also abused other boys. Curley retired in 2015.
Diocese: Diocese of Helena MT
