Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

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Terry McKiernan February 26, 2021

29 Accused in This Diocese

Br. Jorge Acosta

Order: SDB
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Joined seminary at age 17. Left religious life in 1983. Age 46 in 2005 when named as abuser "Br. Jorges Acosta" by two men in a civil suit against the Salesians and Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa. Admitted in a 2/2007 deposition to sexual relations with three students in 1983 when he was teacher and cleric at school. He told the principal about two of the incidents; not reported to law enforcement. A second suit was filed in 4/2007. One settlement was announced in 7/2008. Amount confidential. Acosta developed a career as an actor in Tampa FL and NYC under the name JL Rey. No criminal charges due to the statute of limitations. Included in 3/2020 on the Salesians list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Salesians List 03.31.20

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Fr. Richard J. Allen

Ordained: 1970
Status: Accused

Died: 08/22/2007
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

In 2002 a man told the Diocese that Allen abused him for two years, when he was ages 12-13. Allen resigned from his position and his privileges were suspended in 4/2002. The Diocese denied any prior knowledge. No criminal charges were filed. In 5/2002 the Diocese stated that Allen's file did not raise any red flags during its review of the files of 240 active priests. Died 8/22/2007, age 64. Per his obituary, Allen was a licensed mental health therapist. Name included on the Diocese's list of credibly accused.

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Fr. Russell Gerald Appleby

Order: MSF
Ordained: 1966
Status: Guilty plea

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Also known as Gerald Russell Appleby. In 1994 a young man accused Appleby of molestation over a 2-year period. Suit filed in 1996; later dropped. Appleby left St. Petersburg in 1979; Diocese said no knowledge of complaints until 1994. Order paid the accuser $4,800 for therapy in 1995. Removed by Order in 1990 or 1991; laicized in 1995. Arrested in TX on FL abuse charges in 3/2003. Pleaded guilty in 2004; sentenced to 12 years prison and 20 years sex offender probation. Died in prison in 2005. On the Corpus Christi diocese's list 1/31/2019. It notes removal from ministry in the diocese in 1983.

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Fr. Norman G. Balthazar

Ordained: 1963
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Initially charged in 1991 in Tampa with soliciting a lewd act from a male undercover police officer. Charges dismissed by court. Sent for therapy and returned to ministry. Diocese paid $75K in 2010 to a man claiming abuse by Balthazar at Christ the King in Tampa in the early 1980s when he was 17. Settlement not revealed until 1/2011. Per Tampa police, in 2002 a man accused Balthazar and another priest of sexually assaulting him in 1971 at age 9. State did not press charges. Included on the St. Petersburg diocese's list of credibly accused.

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Fr. Matthew Berko

Ordained: 1962
Status: Convicted

Died: 05/13/2008
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of St. Josaphat of Parma. Working in Toronto, Canada when he abused a 14-year-old girl. Pled guilty in 1985 to molestation charge and served a year of probation in Connecticut. The girl and her family sued and won judgment (never paid). Berko turned up as pastor of a Ukrainian Catholic church in St. Petersburg FL. Removed in 4/2002 when Ukrainian Bishop was informed of his past. Died in 5/2008.

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Fr. Polienato Bernabe

Ordained: 1966
Status: Indicted

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Visiting priest from the Lingayen-Dugapan archdiocese in the Philippines. Worked in St. Petersburg diocese 1975-1989. Accused of repeatedly raping a girl there 1978-1986, starting when she was age 8. Listed as an Army chaplain in the Ogdensburg NY diocese 1989-1991. Listed in the Palm Beach FL diocese as a parish priest 1992-1994. Fled the country after allegations became known in 2002. Warrant out for his arrest. In 1/2003 the Diocese of St. Petersburg reached a $33,500 out-of-court settlement with the woman. Announcement in 4/2006 that Bernabe had died in 2004 in the Philippines.

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Br. William Michael Burke

Order: SDB
Ordained: 1993
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Professed vows as a Salesian brother in 1983. Ordained for the order in 1993. Worked in NJ, FL and NY. A 2002 civil suit alleged abuse in 1986-1987. Reported in 1989. Working in a New York religious center until suspension in 2002. Order was dismissed from the suit in 11/2002. At least one other alleged victim later came forward. Possibly living in Virginia as of 7/2005. Included on the Salesians list of credibly accused in 3/2020.

Assignments:

Salesians List 03.31.20

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Br. John Casula

Order: SDB
Status: Sued

Died: 08/2/1994
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

From Italy, where he made his profession as a Salesian brother in 1941. Arrived in the U.S. in 1947. Worked in WV, NB Canada, FL and NY. Died in 1994. Accused in a 3/2016 lawsuit of the sexual abuse of boy, ages 12-14, at Mary Help of Christians boarding school for disadvantaged children in Tampa FL, 1976-1978. Per the suit, another student accused Cosula in 1977, but the Salesians did not call police. Between 2002-2016, about 10 other former students alleged abuse by priests and brothers at the school, which closed in 2006. Included on the order's list of credibly accused in 3/2020.

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Salesians List 03.31.20

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Fr. Innocente Clementi

Order: SDB
Ordained: 1949
Status: Settled

Died: 03/19/1999
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Accused of sexually abusing at least two boys at Mary Help of Christians school, East Lake, FL (boarding school for troubled boys). Claim vs the Eastern U.S. Province of Salesians said to be quietly settled. Also worked in NJ and NY. Died in 1999. Included on the Salesians List of credibly accused in 3/2020.

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Salesians List 03.31.20

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Br. Peter Day

Donate Photo

Order: SDB
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Professed vows as a Salesian brother in 1961. Named publicly as accused by the Salesian order on its list in 3/2020. Worked at Mary Help of Christians in Tampa. Withdrew in 1965 from the Salesians.

Assignments:

Salesians List 03.31.20

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Salesians List 03.31.20

Fr. Louis Hamm

Order: OFM
Ordained: 1949
Status: Accused

Died: 01/8/1988
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Named publicly as accused by the FL Attorney General in its report released 11/6/2020, name misspelled "Lewis." Rev. Louis Hamm was from Germany. He worked as a physician and Holy Name Province Franciscan friar in China beginning in 1934, and was ordained there in 1949. He arrived in the U.S. in 1951 and worked for the Province in NC, GA, NJ, RI. The 1986 volume of the Official Catholic Directory shows Hamm as at the Franciscan Home for Retired Priests in St. Petersburg, FL. Died 1/8/1988 in Butler, NJ, age 86. Included on the Province's list in 10/2021 of those against whom there are substantiated allegations.

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Fr. Ramon Hernandez

Ordained: 1973
Status: Reinstated

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

From Cuba, moved to the US in 1980. Removed himself from ministry in 2/2006 after a man accused him of abuse in 1999 when the man was 16 and Hernandez was assigned to St. Rita's in Dade City. Hernandez denied the allegations. Police investigated; no charges filed. The Diocese conducted an investigation, then announced that Hernandez would be returned to active ministry as of 8/30/2006.

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Fr. Thomas J. Hidding

Order: SJ
Ordained: 1986
Status: Accused

Died: 10/12/2005
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Hidding was removed from his assignment at a Miami parish in 5/2002 after a credible allegation that he molested a student at Jesuit High School in Tampa sometime during 1980-1982. Transferred to Jesuit College Prep in Dallas, TX where he worked 1982-1983. Hidding was a Jesuit seminarian during the time in question. Also had assignments in New Orleans. Died 10/12/2005. Included on the Jesuits Central and Southern Province list 12/7/2018.

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Fr. James C. Lara

Ordained: 1957
Status: Settled

Died: 02/14/2019
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Ordained for the Diocese of Toledo, Spain. Sent to the Florida as a missionary priest in 1959. Incardinated into the Diocese of St. Petersburg in 1968. Pastor of Church of the Nativity in Brandon 1969 until he retired in 1999. Elevated to Monsignor the same year. Per 4/2002 news, Lara was accused in a 11/1987 lawsuit of touching and making sexual advances toward the daughter of the parish music directors, who had been fired five months earlier. The abuse allegedly began when the girl was 14 and continued for 5 years. The parents also accused Lara of slandering them and of hitting and pushing the wife just before the church fired them. The suit was "amicably resolved" in 1990, per court records. Lara died 2/14/2019 in Spain.

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Fr. William A. Lau

Ordained: 1979
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Pastor of Blessed Trinity in 5/1996 when accused of a sexual incident involving an older teenage boy years earlier. Resigned from the parish and was sent to St. Luke Institute in MD for treatment. Bishop Lynch waited five months before telling the parish why Lau left. Per the diocese in 4/2002, Lau "was removed from the ministry and sought employment elsewhere." Included on the diocese's list of credibly accused.

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Br. Stephen Letourneaux

Donate Photo

Order: SDB
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Professed vows as a Salesian brother in 1965. Worked at Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa. Left the order in 1973. Included in 3/2020 on the Salesians' list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Salesians List 03.31.20

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Salesians List 03.31.20

Fr. Ronald John Luka

Order: CMF
Ordained: 1963
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

In two 2002 civil suits Luka is accused of abusing three male students in the late 1970s at St. Helen's Catholic School in Lauderdale Lakes. Luka left the school in 1978 after a mother went to the parish pastor. Luka's Order, the Claretians, claimed they received their first allegation against him in 1999, of abuse occurring in NY state around 1979. Sent St. Luke's in MD for treatment. Permanently removed from ministry. Living in 2002 at Wounded Brothers Project in MO. Judge ruled in 2/2003 that the latest suit against Luka could go forward. At least one claim settled in 9/2004 for $150K. Included in 3/2018 on the Rockville Centre Diocese's list of accused. Reportedly died around 2011. Included in 10/2022 on the Chicago Archdiocese's list. Included on the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Diocese of Rockville Centre List 03.18.21

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Fr. Nicholas McLoughlin

Ordained: 1966
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

From Ireland. Priest of the Diocese of Venice, formerly St. Petersburg diocese territory. Suspended from ministry in 11/2018 after the Diocese of St. Petersburg notified Venice of an allegation of inappropriate contact with a minor. The incident allegedly occurred in the 1970s when McLoughlin was pastor of Corpus Christi in Temple Terrace. The Diocese stated that the allegation had "a semblance of truth." Accused in a 10/2019 lawsuit of groping and sexually assaulting a woman during confession in 4/2018. A second woman filed suit in 10/2019, alleging that in about 9/2017 McLoughlin forcefully kissed her. (His brother, Diocese of Venice priest Ed McLoughlin, was accused of the sexual abuse of teenage boys in the 1980s and 1990s. Fr. Nick McLoughlin was accused in lawsuits of covering up for for Fr. Ed.)

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Br. Thomas J. Mulryan

Order: CSC
Status: Accused

Died: 08/14/2009
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Made perpetual profession of vows in 1955. Accused in 1994 of abuse of three boys at Notre Dame International School in Rome, Italy, in the early 1960s, when he was a religious brother. He left the order in the 1970s. He had worked for Catholic schools in MA and NY prior to becoming a teacher at Jesuit High School in Tampa in 1988. Became principal in 1992. Placed on leave in 12/1994 when allegations became known. He denied all allegations. Mulryan retired in 6/1995. Included on the Fall River diocese's list in 1/2021 of credibly accused. Died in 2009.

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Fr. Terence O’Donnell

Donate Photo

Order: SDB
Ordained: 1970
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Sued in 2003 and 2004. Accused by three people of abusing them at a boarding school in Tampa, Mary Help of Christians, in the early 1990s. When parents complained, he was reassigned to Salesian Boys and Girls Club in Boston, and the Salesian Provincial House in New Rochelle. Placed on leave in 2003 after suit filed. Had been investigated in 1993 by Florida's Dept of Health and Rehabilitation Services for allegations. No charges filed. Included in 3/2020 on the Salesians list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Salesians List 03.31.20

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Fr. Hubert John Reason

Ordained: 1957
Status: Settled

Died: 07/10/1984
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

In 8/2002 the Diocese announced that "several individuals" had come forward with credible accusations that they had been abused by Reason as minors. Per a 12/2002 news article, two brothers had come forward to allege abuse by Reason and Fr. Gerry Appleby, and by an Episcopal priest and an Episcopal seminarian. The men said that, in effect, the four traded them around. They said that Reason would also give them and other altar boys money and alcohol and take them to Tampa for professional wrestling. Reason left the diocese in 1978 and died in 1984, at age 60. Accused in 2005 of child sexual abuse at an Altamonte Spring parish in the early-to-mid-1960s. Three claims settled for $1.5M in 7/2005. Included on the St. Petersburg diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in 10/2021 on the Orlando diocese's list.

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Fr. Michael S. Rhodes

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1984
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Per news in 2004, Rhodes was accused of sexually abusing two boys in the late 1970s, when he was a seminary student. One of the alleged victims came forward in late 2003 and the second was located by church investigators. Rhodes left the ministry in 1993. In 2004 he was possibly living in Florida and working as a clinical hypnotherapist. Included on the diocese's list of credibly accused.

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Fr. Norman J. Rogge

Order: SJ
Ordained: 1956
Status: Convicted

Died: 02/4/2009
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Pleaded guilty in FL in 1967 to one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Sentenced to three years probation and psychiatric counseling. Charged in FL in 1985 with one count of sexual battery or lewd and lascivious act on a boy under age 14 in 1984. Pleaded no contest. Sentenced to one year in jail. Also worked in TX, CA, KS, AL, LA. Living in LA in 2002. Complaint in 2004 of abuse in 1962. Died 2/4/2009. Included on the Mobile archdiocese's list 12/6/2018. On the Alexandria diocese's list 2/6/2019. On the Jesuits Central and Southern Province's list 12/7/2019.

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Br. Benet G. Salis

Donate Photo

Order: OSB
Status: Accused

Died: 07/26/1991
Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Named publicly as credibly accused of child sexual abuse in 8/2018 by the St. Vincent Archabbey Benedictines in Latrobe PA. The Archabbey received an allegation in 1993 that Salis abused a child 1964-1965 at St. Leo's Abbey in Florida. Salis died 7/26/1991.

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Fr. Jan Sanders

Donate Photo

Order: SJ
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Allegedly abused a minor when visiting the diocese in the 1980s. Name included in the FL Attorney General's report 11/6/2020.

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Fr. Robert L. Schaeufele

Ordained: 1975
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Placed on leave in 4/2002 after allegations surfaced. The Diocese knew in 1994 that Schaeufele was bringing boys to his rectory. Several civil suits 2003-2004. In 2004 the Diocese agreed to pay $1.1M to 12 men abused by him as boys. Others refused to settle. Found not guilty in 5/2003 of some charges, but convicted in 6/2003 on other charges of abuse in the 1980s. Received two 30-year concurrent sentences. Also sentenced in Pasco County 7/2003. At least 22 accusers are known. Abused in parishes that were later part of the Venice diocese. Scheduled for release from prison in 2/2015, after serving only 12 years. Included on the St. Petersburg diocese's list of credibly accused.

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Fr. Joseph Schneider

Donate Photo

Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Named publicly as accused in the FL Attorney General's report released 11/6/2020. Deceased. (No other information, including which diocese Schneider was affiliated with; placing him in St. Petersburg for now.)

Sources:

FL Attorney General’s Report 11.06.20

Fr. Jeremiah M. Spillane

Order: LC
Ordained: 1986
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

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).

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Fr. Ignatius Tuoc

Ordained: 1971
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of St. Petersburg FL

Arrived in the St. Petersburg diocese in 4/1976 from Vietnam. Temporarily removed in 2003 from his assignment after a female parishioner accused him of abuse in the early 1990s, when she was a minor. Asked to step down from assignment after investigation by the Diocesan Review Board, pending a more in-depth investigation. Returned to ministry because allegations could not be proved. Active priest per diocesan website accessed in 7/2008 and again in 8/2020.

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