Diocese of Providence RI - BishopAccountability.org

74 Accused in This Diocese

Fr. Joseph A. Abruzzese

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1990
Status: Convicted

In 10/1993 a 16-year-old boy reported to police in that Abruzzese grabbed and fondled him in a local park. Abruzzese was assigned at the time to St. Anthony's in North Providence. Criminally charged, then placed on leave 12/1/1993. Pleaded no contest in 1994 to second-degree sexual assault. Sentenced to five years' probation and counseling. Despite his plea, Abruzzese maintained that he was innocent. He was allowed to reside at St. Joseph's until 6/1997; by 11/1997 Abruzzese was living at St. Ann's in Providence. In 1/1999 a victims group complained to Bishop Muvee that Abruzzese was participating in masses at the Cathedral and St. Ann's. The Official Catholic Directory shows him Absent on Leave in the 1994-2002, after which he is no longer listed. In 2006 the Diocese held an administrative penal process, as instructed by the Vatican. The process ended in 2008; Bishop Tobin and the canonical assessors found that there was insufficient evidence of Abruzzese's guilt. Tobin, however, did not return Abruzzese to ministry, citing his concern that, if he did, victims' advocacy groups "would immediately respond in a manner that would be damaging.... ." Abruzzese appealed to the Vatican. Included on the Diocese's 7/1/2019 list of credibly accused (name misspelled Abbruzzese). Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. John C. Allard

Ordained: 1975
Status: Accused

Died: 04/27/2018
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Monsignor. Allard was removed 2/25/2013 from his positions at St. Agatha and Precious Blood parishes and the Father Marot CYO Center after an allegation that he sexually assaulted an altar boy over two years, beginning in 1981 when the boy was about age 15 and Allard was assigned to Immaculate Conception in Cranston. After the first assault Allard told the boy that what happened was a sin, then drove him to Providence for confession. The Diocese stated that Allard admitted to the abuse and expressed profound remorse for the harm he caused. There were no criminal charges due to the statute of limitations. Allard was ordered to live a life of prayer and penance. A year later he was working as a part-time cook at St. Agatha's parish rectory. He died 4/27/2018. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

- Holts Sons Funeral Home Obit
- RI AG Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Daniel M. Azzarone, Jr.

Ordained: 1978
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Allegations against Azzarone of child sexual abuse were received by the Diocese as early as 1985, 1992 and 1998-1999. He was kept in ministry. In 11/2001 Azzarone was arrested, accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy on a Caribbean cruise in 11/2000. The abuse continued until 2001, often in a parish rectory. Another youth then also accused him of abuse. Azzarone was placed on leave after his arrest. In 9/2005 Azzarone pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to three years in prison and seven years' probation, and ordered to register as a Level III sex offender. He was named in a 2005 civil lawsuit which settled in 8/2008 as part of a $1.326M settlement by the Providence diocese. He was laicized 6/12/2009, as announced in 2/2010. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that Azzarone was accused of sexually abusing at least six boys, convicted of raping two. Azzarone abused children throughout his priesthood, beginning in 1978. The abuse often involved plying the children with alcohol, and sometimes marijuana and cocaine. Azzarone's victims ranged in age from 9-16.

Br. Peter/Fr. Robert W. Barnes

Order: FSC
Ordained: 1980
Status: Accused

Died: 07/5/2008
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Educator, school administrator, parish priest. Barnes was a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers for thirty years, as Br. Peter. He worked in RI, New Orleans LA, New York NY, Memphis TN, Paramus NJ. In 1977 he entered the seminary in Weston MA. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1980 for Diocese of Norwich, using his given name, Robert. He died 7/5/2008. Per the Diocese's 2/22/2019 list, Barnes was removed from ministry in 2002. He is included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that in 2002 a woman reported that Barnes raped her in East Providence RI when she was age 17 in 1963. The woman said that other Christian Brothers sexually abused her sister. There was no prosecution due to the statute of limitations. In 2019 a man reported that Barnes sexually assaulted him when he was age 10 in the 1950s, in Pawtucket RI. Barnes was assigned at the time of the alleged assault to St. Raphael's Academy.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04 26

Sources:

Fr. Francis Xavier Battel

Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused

Died: 12/16/1977
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Ordained in 1957, Battel went on leave of absence in 1969 and did not return to ministry. He died in 1977. Named publicly as accused by in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that the Diocese received a report in 3/2010 that Battel sexually abused a boy, ages 14-15, in 1969, at St. Mary's in Pawtucket. His accuser said that another boy during that time ran into a CYO hall and said that Battel molested or attacked him, and that Battel was moved from the parish a few days later.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Fr. Roger E. Belhumeur

Ordained: 1961
Status: Accused

Died: 09/28/2010
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Died 9/28/2010. Per the list, allegation(s) were received after Belhumeur's death. Included in the 3/5/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that in 5/1970 a man told the Diocese in a letter that Belhumeur had sexually assaulted his teenage son. The abuse stopped after the father's complaint. The family were parishioners of St. Rose of Lima in Warwick, where Belhumeur was assigned. Some of the abuse reportedly took place during Belhumeur's subsequent assignment at Immaculate Conception in Cranston. He was kept in ministry. The alleged victim came forward to the Diocese in 9/2005, saying he was sexually abused by Belhumeur 30-40 times 1969-1970. He was and was "stunned" to learn of his father's 1970 letter. The Director of the Diocese's Office of Education and Compliance, Robert McCarthy, told the alleged victim that he believed him, but that there was no need to interview Belhumeur because he was 80-years-old and "I don't know if he's got all his marbles." In 2022 another man reported to the Diocese that he was sexually abused as an altar boy by Belhumeur at St. Mary's in Newport. Belhumeur was a fill-in priest at St. Mary's 1974-1975.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Mario Bordignon

Order: CS
Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Died: 12/22/1992
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

From Italy where he was ordained in 1950. Arrived in the U.S. in 5/1951, assigned to a parish in New Haven CT, then to Bristol RI 1959-1964. In 1964 Bordignon was sent as a missionary to CA. He returned to East Coast, in NYC, in around 1966 and then in 1966 to New Haven CT, per the Official Catholic Directory. From 1988 until his death in 1992 Bordignon was back in RI, at a Providence parish. He was named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2/2013 a woman reported to the Diocese that in 1964, when she was age 15, Bordignon sexually assaulted her on five or six occasions. He was a family friend. She said the abuse took place during swimming outings in the Palmer River in Barrington. The Diocese informed the Scalabrinians whose lawyer responded that any civil claims were time-barred. The Order did not reach out to the alleged victim; the lawyer wrote to the Diocese that the claims were merely allegations from 49 years ago and that Provincial "will himself decide on a pastoral basis whether to speak with [the complainant]."

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Ronald E. Brassard

Ordained: 1974
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Accused of abuse in a 1995 lawsuit. Plaintiff claimed he was age 13 and a student at St. Henry's Seminary in IL in the 1970s when the abuse began, and that several other priests also abused him. The diocese said that, due to inconsistencies, Brassard would remain in active ministry pending further investigation. He continued as pastor of Immaculate Conception in Cranston, RI and was appointed pastor of St. Mark's in Jamestown in 2015.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Dennis Brodeur

Ordained: 1977
Status: Accused

Died: 01/1/2004
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Ordained for the Diocese of Providence RI. Health care ethicist and theologian. Taught at St. Ambrose University in IA, and St. Louis University in MO. Vice-president for SSM Health Care. Adopted a son. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Died 1/1/2004 in St. Louis. Allegation(s) were received after Brodeur's death. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that a few days after Brodeur died in 2004, the Diocese of Providence received an allegation that Brodeur had sexually abused a boy, ages 13-14, while assigned in the late 1970s-1980 to St. Jude's in Lincoln. Brodeur was a family friend who frequently visited the boy's home. The abuse would allegedly occur at night when Brodeur would go to the boy's bedroom to tuck him in.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. James D. Campbell

Donate Photo

Order: MSC
Ordained: 1972
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Worked in RI and Rhode Island Medical Center 7/1975 -11/1977. Also assigned in OH, Bogota Colombia, IL, the Marshall Islands, and PA. In 1994 the Providence Diocese received a report that Campbell sexually abused a boy, age 15, multiple times 1975-1976 at St. Joseph's in Warwick RI, at a Narragansett hotel, and in a hotel near Youngstown OH. No action. Placed on leave by his Order in 2002; he had been living in Center Valley PA. The Order told Providence that there were other complaints filed against Campbell while he was in IL. Indicted in 9/2003. Convicted in 12/2004 of the abuse of two teenagers, one a girl, in Uxbridge MA 1975-1978. Sentenced in 1/2005 to 90 days in a house of corrections and 10 years' probation, and to register as a sex offender. Laicization announced in 3/2005. Included on the Diocese of Rockford's list 11/14/2018. Died in 2007. On the Providence diocese's list 7/1/2019 of credibly accused. Also included on the the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart USA list of credibly accused. Included in the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General's Report. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that the victim who came forward in 1994 told the Providence diocese's investigator in 2002 that he believed that Campbell had also abused two brothers around the time of his abuse, one of whom later died by suicide.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Robert A. Carpentier

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1967
Status: Settled

Died: 05/9/2012
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry in 4/1992 after a man reported that Carpentier sexually abused him at age 13 in 1973-1974, while assigned to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Woonsocket. Carpentier admitted to the abuse. He was sent to the Institute of Living in Hartford CT for a month for evaluation. The man filed a civil lawsuit in 10/1992, including his wife and children as plaintiffs. Questions in the case regarding the statute of limitations were referred to the RI Supreme Court, which ruled against the plaintiffs. (See 1996 R.I. Lexis187, 7/11/1996.) Carpentier went on sabbatical at Boston College 1992-1994, and leave of absence 1994-2006. He retired in 2006. Claims against Carpentier were settled in 9/2002 as part of a $13.5M mass settlement involving 36 victims of abuse by clergy in the Providence diocese. Carpentier died 5/9/2012. Included on the Diocese's 7/1/2019 list of credibly accused. In 2020 a man reported to the Diocese that Carpentier sexually abused him as a young boy during the time Carpentier was assigned to St. Agatha's in Woonsocket, 1969-1973. Included in the 3/5/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Br. Vincent Cavanaugh

Donate Photo

Order: FSC
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Worked in the 1950s at LaSalle Academy in Providence. Died in 1966. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2004 a man reported to the Diocese that Cavanaugh sexually abuse him at age 13, as well as his 11-year-old brother, on multiple occasions in the summer of 1956. Cavanaugh allegedly reached into the boys' shorts and touched their genitals while applying sunscreen, and had them do the same to him. The abuse occurred when Cavanaugh took the boys swimming.

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Fr. Paul Charland

Ordained: 1945
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Removed from ministry 8/26/2011. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. A woman reported in 2002 that Charland sexually abused her in 1980 or 1981, when she was a 15-year-old student at St. Raphael's Academy. Charland was a guidance counselor and CYO teacher at the school. The abuse involved fondling and kissing. The woman said she saw Charland do the same thing to her friend. The abuse was known to the Diocese in 1/1982; a priest told Bishop Angell in a letter that Charland's behavior "covered ten years" and that Charland could not deny to the priest that he had kissed the 15-year-old girl, who had disclosed the abuse to the priest. Charland was sent to the House of Affirmation in Whitinsville MA for treatment, then was assigned in 1983 to a parish in Coventry. In 1992 parishioners at a Foster parish, where he had been assigned as pastor, complained to the Diocese about Charland's behavior with children. He was kept in ministry. In 2003 a woman told State Police that Charland groped and kissed her during a boating outing with her family in 7/1999, when she was age 15. No prosecution due to the RI statute of limitations. Charland was kept in ministry. He was sent for a psychological evaluation in 2/2004, and again in 6/2006 because he did not follow previous recommendations. Removed from his parish, assigned to nursing homes and assisted living centers. In 5/2011 a woman complained of recent unwanted kissing and hugging by Charland. He was removed from public ministry and allowed to retire as a senior priest. Sent to live at Regina Cleri. None of the allegations were sent to the Vatican. Chancellor Timothy Reilly in 2016 said that Bishop Tobin told him not to forward the initial allegation because he didn't believe the allegation was credible.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Geoffrey Chase

Order: OSB
Ordained: 1959
Status: Accused

Died: 08/1/2023
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Started work at Portsmouth Abbey School in 1960. In 11/2016 the school reached out to alumni regarding past sex abuse, hiring a law firm to investigate. It was discovered that Chase was housemaster of dorm in the mid-1960s. He taught math and later computer science until 2002 when he was "sent away" to treatment and then long-term care, due to the past sexual abuse of a student. He admitted to abusing 3 others in the early 1970s-early 1980s. In 8/2017 he was in his late 80s and ill. He died 8/1/2023.

Sources:

Br. Peter Claver

Order: SC
Status: Settled

Died: 04/20/1975
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Professed final vows in 1923. Worked as a teacher and administrator in schools of the Sacred Heart Brothers in New England and Canada. Became superior of Sacred Heart School in Andover, MA in 1970. Died in 4/1975. In 4/2012, attorney Mitchell Garabedian announced the settlement of at least one claim regarding Claver, of abuse at a school in Rhode Island.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. John H. Crafton

Order: SSC
Ordained: 1940
Status: Accused

Died: 01/12/1989
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Columbans' U.S. Province on its list in 2/2022, with one allegation of abuse noted, occurring in the 1960s. Per the Official Catholic Directory, Crafton was assigned throughout the 1960s to the Columbans' Foreign Mission Society headquarters in Omaha, NE. He died in 1989. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. Crafton was assigned 1974-1976 to St. Joseph's Hospital in Providence and in 1982 at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Pawtucket, as auxilliary chaplain. In 6/1994 a woman told the Diocese of Providence that Crafton sexually abused her over six or seven years, beginning when she was about age 5 in the 1960s and he was living at the Columban Seminary in Bristol RI. At least two other priests knew of the abuse and did nothing. Crafton's alleged victim came forward again in 2002, to Bishop Mulvee. She asked the Columbans for lifetime therapy; it was denied. In 2006 the woman again contacted the Diocese, who informed the Order. The Columbans' Provincial stated that there was no investigation and that they had offered the woman one year of therapy "as an act of charity." In 2024 the woman told RI State Police that there may have been another victim.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Joseph D’Angelo

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1979
Status: Settled

Died: 01/15/2026
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Included on the Diocese's 7/1/2019 list of credibly accused. Died 1/15/2026. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that D'Angeleo was suspended from ministry in Providence 1983-1994, was assigned in the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro Italy 1994-1997, and was suspended again from 1997 until 2006, when he was laicized. During his four years in the Diocese of Providence D'Angelo was accused of sexually abusing at least four boys, ages 10-12. In 1983, after reports of abuse, D'Angelo was ordered by Gelineau to be evaluated by the Servants of the Paraclete in NM; D'Angelo instead fled to Rome and appealed his case to the Vatican. He returned to the States in 1984, living in Everett MA. In 7/1984 he filed complaints with the Diocese Grievance Committee that Gelineau and his former pastor had defamed him and violated canon law, then returned to Rome to appeal to the Vatican. Gelineau continued to refuse D'Angelo's reinstatement in Providence. D'Angelo stayed in Italy. In 1993 he was accused of sexually abusing a boy in Murialdo, Italy. Despite this, he was allowed ministry in the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, with approval from the Vatican and no objection from Bishop Gelineau. His faculties were suspended in 12/1997 after a lawsuit in Providence in 1996 was filed by a man alleging abuse as a child in 1981. The suit settled as part of the Diocese's 9/2002 $13.5M mass settlement of 36 sexual abuse lawsuits alleging abuse by 11 priests and a nun. Per the Attorney General's report, in 1975 D'Angelo was denied admission to the priesthood by a religious order. The Diocese of Providence accepted him as a candidate after requiring D'Angelo to undergo a psychological evaluation; the evaluation showed that D'Angelo "might present a problem... ." in 1977 D'Angelo underwent another psychological evaluation at House of Affirmation in Whitinsville MA, after which Bishop Gelineau allowed D'Angelo ministry while continuing outpatient therapy. After complaints from laity and colleagues in 1978, Bishop Gelineau decided not to ordain D'Angelo. D'Angelo appealed and the Church's Grievance Committee "found in his favor." He was ordained in 1979.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Anthony A. DeAngelis

Ordained: 1935
Status: Accused

Died: 01/24/1990
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

A woman notified the diocese 2/14/1994 that she had been sexually abused by DeAngelis repeatedly 1957-1965, beginning when she was age 5 and attending Sacred Heart Parish School in West Warwick. DeAngelis was the parish pastor. On 6/17/1994 the woman also wrote to Bishop Gelineau about the abuse. DeAngelis was a senior diocesan official, and was named monsignor during the period of the alleged abuse. He died 1/24/1990. The Diocese paid $12.5K to the survivor on 4/4/1996, for therapy costs. She did not sign a confidentiality agreement. DeAngelis's name was included 7/1/2019 on Diocese's list of accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Fr. Normand J. Demers

Ordained: 1958
Status: Sued

Died: 07/21/2018
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Providence priest. Founded an orphanage and school in Haiti. In 1989 boys at the orphanage complained about inappropriate touch and explicit sexual references. Arrested in Haiti. Haitian authorities apparently said the behavior was "inappropriate" but nothing else. Released from jail. Sent to St. Luke Institute for treatment for about five months 1989-1990. Assigned by Providence Bishop Gelineau to a parish in the diocese. Accused of sexually abusing several young men during that time, one reported in 2016. Removed from ministry in 2002, accused of sexually abusing a boy, ages 12-14, about 35 years prior. Absent on Leave 2002-2005. Retired in 2005. Despite the removal of his faculties, Demer was seen celebrating a memorial mass for a priest at St. Martha's Parish. Demers died 7/21/2018. Included on the Diocese's 7/1/2019 list of credibly accused. In 9/2019 a 50-year-old man stated publicly that Demers abused him at age 7 or 8 at St. Joseph Parish. He sued on 2/27/2020; said he saw boys at the rectory brought by Demers from Haiti and Central America. The suit also claims that Demers trafficked boys as early as the 1970s through his charities, and had parties in the rectory with some boys wearing diapers and made to pose for "sexually suggestive" photos. The case was dismissed in 10/2020, the judge ruling that church leadership cannot be labeled "perpetrators." The RI Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in 6/2023. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that the Diocese knew as early as 1965 of possible misconduct by Demers, after which he was assigned to a hospital until 1973. There was a report to the Diocese in 1967 that Demers was seen naked in bed with a shirtless teenage boy, at a lake cottage. Demers was assigned to LaSalle Academy and Dismas House (for troubled boys) 1974-1976; one boy reported in 1976 that he ran away from Dismas house because Demers was "making passes" at him; at least five other men alleged in the 2000s sexual abuse by Demers during that time. There were more allegations in 1985, including that Demers had boys living with him in the rectory. A religious sister, who was a pastoral associate at St. Joseph's, expressed concern to Bishop Gelineau, who only responded after she threatened to go to the media. Demers then fired the sister.

Assignments:

Documents:

RI Supreme Court Ruling 06.30.23

Sources:

Fr. Alfred R. Desrosiers

Ordained: 1961
Status: Charged

Died: 02/15/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Accused in a civil lawsuit filed in 1994 of molesting a girl, including rape, 1972-1974, beginning when the girl was age 15. Derosiers was assigned at the time to St. Joan of Arc in Cumberland. She was involved in the CYO and Desrosiers was a family friend. The girl said she told the Director of the CYO in 1974, but nothing was done. She came forward to the Diocese in 1993; they did not inform law enforcement until almost a year later. Desrosiers was sent to Boston College for a sabbatical. He was criminally charged with rape in 9/1995. A trial was scheduled for Fall 1997 but portions were appealed to the RI Supreme Court as of 4/1998. The case was still pending when Desrosiers died 2/15/2001. A second lawsuit was filed in 1994 by a woman claiming sexual abuse by Derosiers in 1975 or 1976, when she was age 16 and a St. Joan of Arc parishioner. She had been sent to Desrosiers by her parents for counseling. Both claims settled, one in 9/2002 as part of $13.5M mass settlement involving 36 victims of priest abuse in the Providence diocese and allegations against 11 priests and a nun. In 2019 a woman told the Diocese that Desrosiers sexually abused her in 1974 or 1975 when she was age 14 or 15; she was working part-time at St. Joan of Arc and was involved in the CYO; Desrosiers was a family friend who often visited their home. In 2012 the Diocese received a report that Desrosiers sexually abused an altar boy, beginning when the boy was age 8 in 1980, at Our Lady of Victories in Woonsocket. The abuse continued for four years and included rape. Further, Desrosiers allegedly would force the boy to perform oral sex on him, withholding tips from serving at weddings until he did so. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Paul E. Desrosiers

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1940
Status: Accused

Died: 06/27/1984
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Parish priest; member of Diocesan Tribunal 1959-1968; leave of absence 1/12/1973 - 8/6/1973. Desrosiers died at age 71 in 1984 from injuries suffered in a bus crash during a trip to Granada, Spain. His name was added in 2019 to the Diocese's list of those credibly accused of the sexual abuse of a minor, noting that the allegations were received after Desrosiers' death. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that Desrosiers was accused of sexually abusing two boys in the early 1960s, while assigned to St. Joseph's in Woonsocket. The abuse is said to have been reported to the pastor, Fr. Adrien Menard, in the early 1960s and early 1970s. No apparent action. (Menard was later also credibly accused of child sexual abuse.) In 1995 the Diocese received a report from a woman that her son had recently told her that Desrosiers sexually abused him as a boy in the early 1960s; this is the mother had reported abuse to Fr. Menard just after an incident. The boy had gone with Desrosiers on a trip and came home very, very angry and lying in a fetal position on the back seat of their car. The boy told his parents at the time that Desrosiers had licked his face. Another child on the trip said the priest couldn't keep his hands off of the boy. The victim disclosed further details to State Police in 2/2014. He said he was never contacted by the Diocese regarding the allegations. In 7/2019 a man reported to the Diocese that Desrosiers sexually abused him "regularty" when he was ages 10-13 in the 1960s. He said he told Fr. Menard about the abuse at age 20 and Menard apologized.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Louis M. Diogo

Ordained: 1946
Status: Accused

Died: 04/4/2015
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

From the Azores, where he was ordained in 1946. Arrived in the U.S. in 1954 to work in the Diocese of Providence. Incardinated in 1983. Retired in 1993 after his cousin told the Diocese that he had sexually abused her and her sister as children in the 1950s and 1960s, beginning when she was age 5 and through her teens. Diogo was teaching the girls piano lessons, and assigned to St. Francis Xavier in East Providence during the time in question. The Diocese found the woman to be credible. Diogo was not charged criminally due to the statute of limitations. He was named "pastor emeritus" of St. Elizabeth Parish in Bristol, where he had been assigned since 1972, apparently without restrictions. In 2005 one of Diogo's victims reported that Diogo had returned to Rhode Island and was saying mass; the Diocese immediately told him that he could not say mass or function as a priest. In 3/2006 another woman reported to the Diocese that she and her sister were sexually abused as children by Diogo; her sister confirmed that she was abused, beginning at age 11, at St. Francis Xavier. Diogo died 4/4/2015. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the RI Attorney General's 3/20/2026 report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Charles F. Dolan

Ordained: 1930
Status: Accused

Died: 11/5/1977
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Allegation(s) were received after Dolan's death. Per the 3/04/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, a woman reported to the Diocese in 2002 that Dolan repeatedly sexually abused her beginning when she was age 15 in 1938 and he was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Pawtucket. Dolan told her to tell another St. Joseph's priest about the abuse in 1940, and that priest also took sexual advantage of the girl, who was then 18. In 1949 Dolan was sent to the Servants of the Paraclete in NM for treatment. He was next assigned to St. Joseph Hospital in Warick as chaplain for three years, then to St. Brendan Parish in Riverside. In 1992 a woman told the Diocese that she and her sister and "numerous other little girls" were sexually abused by Dolan at St. Brendan's and at his cousin's house in Riverside. The abuse involved his taking nude pictures of them, fondling, and intercourse. He also allegedly offered the girls alcohol. Dolan was transferred from St. Brendan's after one year. He retired in 1971 and died 11/5/1977.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. John F. Doran

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Died: 06/1/1992
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died 6/1/1992. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2002 a man reported to the Diocese that Doran sexually abused him multiple times as an 11- or 12-year-old altar boy at St. Patrick's in Cranston. Doran's accuser said that he suspected that Doran had also abused other altar boys. The man was told, when he asked if there had been other complaints about Doran, that this could not be determined because Doran's confidential file would have been destroyed upon his death in 1992.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Fr. Louis Ward Dunn

Ordained: 1947
Status: Convicted

Died: 04/18/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Monsignor. Held multiple prominent chancery positions. Placed on leave in 1994 after a woman reported to the bishop sexual misconduct toward her by Dunn when she was a minor. Lawsuit filed in 1995. Dunn was criminally tried in 1997 on two separate rape allegations; one was dismissed. He was convicted in the second of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 6/1982. In 12/1999 Dunn received a 10-year suspended sentence and was ordered to continue to live at St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield. He died 4/18/2001. At least two other lawsuits were filed. Some claims settled in 2002. One of the original complainants did not settle; she carried her case all the way to the RI Supreme Court, which dismissed it in 2/2008. She appealed unsuccessfully to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dunn's name was included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included also in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that Dunn was accused of the sexual abuse of at least five girls and young women. His modus operandi was to target vulnerable girls under age 18 and into their early 20s, then sexually assaulting them after plying them with alcohol and drugs. The Diocese knew of Dunn's behavior as early as 1967 when a man complained to the Diocese about his behavior toward girls and young woman at Christ the King Parish in South Kingston. The man's teenage daughter had allegedly been sexually abused by Dunn. Dunn was transferred to another parish, where his behavior continued. At least one, and possibly two, of Dunn's victims became pregnant - one baby was given up in 1967 for adoption in California. Dunn reportedly paid for the other girl to have a "medical procedure," ending the pregnancy.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Michael W. Dziob

Ordained: 1942
Status: Accused

Died: 11/27/2012
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Monsignor. Died in 2012. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 6/2020 the Diocese received a report that Diob sexually abused a 9-year-old boy, beginning when the boy was in 4th grade at St. Leo the Great School in Pawtucket. The boy had a disability and used crutches, and his mother had recently died. The abuse allegedly occurred over 100 times in Dziob's office, where the boy was often sent for discipline. It ended when Dziob retired, at the end of the boy's 5th-grade year.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. John Joseph Keough Feeney

Ordained: 1928
Status: Accused

Died: 11/10/1974
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2004 the Diocese received a report that in 1965 Feeney sexually assaulted two teenage boys at a beach house in Narragansett. The beach house belonged to Fr. William O'Connell, who was later convicted of child sexual abuse. The boys had been playing cards and drinking with the priests. Feeney allegedly rubbed up against the boy; his accuser said he also saw him penetrate another boy. Feeney died in 1974.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 02.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Oscar R. Ferland

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1944
Status: Accused

Died: 07/8/1998
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Monsignor. Died 7/8/1998. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019, noting that allegation(s) were received after Ferland's death. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. Accused of sexually abusing little girls and a boy, with incidents occurring 1964-1991. In 2002 the Diocese received a report that in 1994 Ferland watched a 10-year-old girl use the toilet at St. Joseph's in Hope Valley. He allegedly opened the stall door and stared at her. Ferland was substituting at the parish for a priest who was on vacation. In 2006 a woman told the Diocese that Ferland inappropriately touched her and other girls in the early 1990s. At the time in question, the girl's father confronted Ferland who didn't deny his behavior and said "...now I think I'm going to retire." The man also said he informed Fr. McManus (later Auxiliary Bishop) of Ferland's behavior, and McManus did not respond. The man said he spoke again with McManus about Ferland's behavior when McManus became bishop, after Ferland had died. One alleged victim told the Diocese in 2007 that when she was age 10 in the 1980s and attending St. Luke's School in Barrington, Ferland touched her vagina in a swimming pool, among many similar incidents, and that he would pick up her and other girls and touch their buttocks and thighs. In 2017 a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by Ferland on multiple occasions at St. Luke School when she was 13 years old in 1983-1984. She said she reported the abuse to the school principal, who told her she was a liar and threatened to expel her from school. In 2018 a man told the Diocese that when he was age 8 or 9 and a student at St. Michael's in Providence, Ferland sexually abused him, including rape. He said he had disclosed the abuse to Providence Police in 2006.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. John F. Ferry

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused

Died: 04/11/1988
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died 4/11/1988. A man accused Ferry, then an editor of the diocesan newspaper, of drugging and sexually abusing him in the late 1960s when the accuser was a high school student working at the paper. He told his father who "went to the parish with a baseball bat." The man said that the incident wasn't reported. He wrote to the Diocese at some point; his letter, along with complaints from more than 35 other alleged clergy abuse victims, were forwarded to police. Information was not released to public until 11/2013, after an NBC 10 investigation. The accuser had correspondence from the Diocese. Ferry's name was included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that Ferry was accused of sexually abusing five teenage boys, ages 14-18, in the 1960s. Ferry allegedly plied the boys with alcohol.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Kevin R. Fisette

Ordained: 1981
Status: Indicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Placed on leave and resigned from his Pawtucket parish in 8/2009, after a 3/2009 complaint that he sexually abused a boy 1981-1982. Fisette was a deacon at Our Lady of Victory in Hopkinton and chaplain at RI Hospital during the time in question. He was ordained for the priesthood 11/21/1981. State police found the allegations to be credible. No criminal charges due to the statute of limitations. Included on the Diocese's list of credibly accused 7/1/2019. Fired from his job at Goodwill after his name appeared on the list. Indicted 5/25/2022 by the Statewide Grand Jury, charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault allegedly occurring in Burrillville between 1/1/1981 and 12/31/1982. He pleaded not guilty. In 5/2025 Fisette's attorney said the case is in a "ready trial posture."

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Edmund H. Fitzgerald

Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused

Died: 08/7/2020
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019, which notes that Fitzgerald was removed from ministry 8/27/1998. A man told the Diocese in 1998 that Fitzgerald sexually abused him over several years in 1961-1968, beginning when the man was an 8-year-old altar boy. The abuse was said to have included forced oral sex and attempted anal rape. Fitzgerald was sent for a psychological examination then reinstated. Years later, in the 2010s, the man's brother also alleged sexual abuse as a boy by Fitzgerald, at age 9. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that Fitzgerald allegedly sexually abused at least eight children, boys and girls, from the beginning of his priesthood in the late 1950s until the early 1980s. The Diocese's records show that it first received a report in 1993 that Fitzgerald sexually abused a girl, age 11 or 12, sixteen years prior, and that he also abused her sister. The Diocesan investigator, Robert McCarthy, decided that the girl had lied, based on polygraph tests given to her and to Fitzgerald. In 1/1998 a man told the Diocese that in the early 1960s Fitzgerald told his son to "drop his pants." His other son said that when he was 13-14 the priest would and ask him to remove his clothes so that he could see how he was developing. Fitzgerald was kept in ministry. After the allegation in 8/1998, in 11/1998 Fitzgerald requested retirement due to "health reasons and the traumatic experiences of the last 9 months." McCarthy said in 11/1998 that there was "no evidence that is even reportedly reliable that Father Fitzgerald molested anyone." In early 1999 Fitzgerald was again sent for an evaluation, then allowed to resume ministry. In 4/2002 a man reported that Fitzgerald molested him when he was 8-years-old in 1961 or 1962, in the basement of St. Teresa in Pawtucket. In 6/2002 another man alleged that Fitzgerald sexually abused him when he was age 12 in about 1961. Fitzgerald's faculties were removed. Another man came forward in 3/2017, alleging sexual abuse by Fitzgerald in the late 1960s at St. Teresa's, when the man was an altar boy, age 8 or 9. A seventh accuser came forward in 7/2019, claiming Fitzgerald sexually abused him when he was age 12 or 13 in the late 1950s, at St. Teresa's. A woman alleged in 10/2019 that she was sexually abused by Fitzgerald in 1983 at St. Mary of the Bay in Warren, when she was age 12 or 13. None of the cases could be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations. Fitzgerald died 8/7/2020.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. John H. Flanagan

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1933
Status: Accused

Died: 03/7/1973
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. A woman reported to the Diocese in 2016 that she was sexually abused by Flanagan in the 1960s, beginning in 1963 when she was 6-years-old and he was newly assigned to St. Patrick's in Cumberland. He had recently resided for 13 months at the Servants of the Paraclete's Via Coeli in Jemez Springs NM. The woman said the abuse occurred several times per week until she was about 13. Flanagan died in 1973.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Deacon Laurence Gagnon

Status: Convicted

Died: 08/28/2021
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Ordained for the permanent diaconate in 1979. Assigned to St. Joseph Parish in West Warwick and was a teacher at its school 1990-2011. Gagnon was allowed to resign in 6/2011 after he was accused of inappropriately touching at least three 6th-grade boys between 2006 and 2011. The boys were his students. Arrested in 8/2011, charged with three counts of second degree child molestation. Confessed to fondling three boys. Released on bail. Removed from ministry. Pleaded no contest. Sentenced in 4/2013 to 10 years in prison, with one year to serve and the rest suspended with probation. Ordered to register as a Level 3 sex offender. Included on the Diocese's list of credibly accused 7/1/2019. There were at least six accusers, all young boys. Gagnon died in 8/2021.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. William P. Gillooly

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1944
Status: Accused

Died: 09/2/1989
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died 9/2/1989. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019, which notes that allegation(s) were received after Gillooly's death. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that Gillooly was the subject of three allegations of the sexual assault of boys, ages 8-15, while assigned 1965-1978 to St. Francis in South Kingstown and St. Rita's in Warwick. He may have been forced to retire by Bishop Gelineau in 1981 due to a "list of accusations." Gillooly's alleged victims didn't come forward until 2004, 2011, and 2013.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Bede Gorman

Donate Photo

Order: OSB
Ordained: 1944
Status: Accused

Died: 05/8/1985
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

"Fr. Bede." Spent entire career at Portsmouth Abbey School as teacher, coach, athletic director, Housemaster of a dorm called "The Barn." Died in 1985. In 11/16 the school reached out to alumni regarding past sex abuse, hiring a law firm to investigate. Four allegations deemed credible surfaced of abuse of students during the 1950s until 1972, when the school no longer had boarders. One former student had come forward in 1993 re early 1960s abuse; an Abbot Matthew revealed he'd received a complaint from a parent in the early 1970s re Fr. Bede's behavior with her son, which Fr. Bede acknowledged. Gorman also said to have disciplined students with "bare-bottomed spanking." Abbott Matthew said he'd heard early in his career that Fr. Bede "did things with boys."

Sources:

Fr. Timothy J. Gorton

Ordained: 1982
Status: Accused

Died: 06/18/2021
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from his assignment at Precious Blood Parish in Woonsocket in 4/2012 after an allegation of misconduct, occurring about 30 years previously. His nephew reported to law enforcement in 1/2012 that Gorton sexually abused him repeatedly when he was age 12 in 1983. Per the Diocese, Gorton retired without privileges for health reasons, and due to the Review Board's findings that the allegations were credible. There was no prosecution due to the statute of limitations. Gorton died 6/18/2021. Included in the 3/4/ 2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Rene Guertin

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1946
Status: Accused

Died: 01/23/1982
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Allegation(s) were noted to have been received after Guertin's death. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that Guertin was accused of the sexual abuse of at least five children, boys and girls. Most of the abuse is said to have occurred at St. Alyosius Home in Smithfield, where Guertin was assigned 1946-1969. In 2007 a woman reported to the Diocese that Guertin raped and physically abused her for 7 years while he was assigned to Our Lady of Good Help in Burrillville, beginning when she was 10-years-old in 1970. She said that she would often cook and clean at the rectory and spend the night, that Guertin would recruit other children from the parish to help in the rectory, and that many former St. Aloysius residents also slept there. Diocesan records show that in 1973 a parishioner reported to the Diocese that Guertin was living with a young girl in the parish rectory. In 2014 a woman told the Diocese that she was sexually abused at St. Aloysius Home by Guertin from age 4 to 7. She said that a nun would deliver her to his room and wait outside the door. In 2015 her sister described a similar scenario, and added that Guertin would give her candy after abusing her and that the nun who delivered her to his room would take the candy from her while leading her back to her bed and call her a "dirty little girl." Another report to the Diocese in 2015 was from a man who said that when he was 10-years-old in 1950 and living at St. Aloysius Home, Guertin stripped him naked and beat his buttocks with a stick to reprimand him for trying to report that older boys at the Home sexually abused him. In 2022 the Diocese received a report from another man alleging physical and sexual abuse by as a child by Guertin in the 1950s at St. Aloysius Home. Guertin died 1/23/1982. St. Aloysius Home closed in 1994 due to multiple reports of child sexual abuse.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Richard E. Holden

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1964
Status: Accused

Died: 03/23/1985
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died 3/23/1985, age 46. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Allegation(s) were noted to have been received after Holden's death. Per the RI Attorney General's Report, Holden is the subject of allegations of the sexual abuse of five boys. Further, diocesan files show that there may have been complaints about Holden as early as the 1967, with references to "unkind rumors" about him. In 1997 a man reported to the Diocese that he was sexually abused by Holden multiple times in the 1970s when he was a high school student and Holden was assigned to St. Vincent De Paul Parish in Coventry. In 2010 another man told the Diocese that Holden sexually abused him at St. Vincent De Paul 1980-1982, beginning when he was age 14. The man said he suspected that Holden also abused his brother. The Diocese received a third allegation in 2013, from a man who said Holden "sexually approached" him and some of his friends in the early- to mid-1960s at St. Aloysius Parish in Woonsocket. In 2019 there was a fourth allegation, that Holden sexually abused a 16-year-old boy in the early 1970s at St. Vincent's, and in 2020 a fifth man alleged sexual abuse by the priest at age 16 or 17 in 1979.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. James W. Jackson

Order: FSSP
Ordained: 1985
Status: Guilty plea

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Ordained in 1985 for the Diocese of Wichita. Parish priest, teacher, school and Navy chaplain. Involved with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Assigned in 1993 to St. Gregory's Academy, a boy's school in Elmhurst PA, in the Diocese of Scranton. Also worked in the Diocese of Tulsa OK and the Archdiocese of Denver CO. Assigned 8/2021-10/2021 to St. Mary's Parish in Providence RI. Arrested 10/30/2021 after RI State Police discovered that an internet connection from St. Mary's rectory was connected to child pornography sharing. Police discovered a large amount of child sexual abuse material they determined belonged to Jackson, including images and videos of prepubescent girls, infants and toddlers engaging in sex acts. Jackson had been the parish pastor since 8/2021. He was previously pastor of a parish in Littleton CO. He pleaded not guilty 12/21/2021 to federal charges related to distributing, possessing and accessing child pornography. Jackson was allowed to go live with a relative in Kansas, with electronic monitoring, while awaiting adjudication of the charges. Arrested in 6/2022 in Leawood KS for child porn possession due to activity on his computer detected 5/2022-6/2022. In 10/2022 he was in custody of the U.S. Marshals at a detention facility in RI. In a 10/3/2022 hearing Jackson admitted the government could prove he accessed child pornography while on pretrial release. Pleaded guilty in 6/2023 to receiving child pornography, in exchange for the dismissal of the possession charge. Sentenced in 12/2023 to six years in prison, five years of federal supervised release, and funds to victims of child pornography and trafficking. Included on the Scranton diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/20/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. Jackson was laicized 1/13/2025.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Edward J. Kelley

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1968
Status: Indicted

Died: 09/26/2022
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows Kelley to be the subject of allegations of the sexual abuse of three children. The Diocese was aware in 1978 of Kelley's "moral problems." As a result, he was assigned as a hospital chaplain for a short while, then returned to parish ministry. In 1979 the parents of a teenage boy asked that Kelley meet with their son only in public spaces or with others present, and not one-on-one. In 1982 Kelley became the legal guardian of a 14-year-old boy, who stayed with him in the rectory. Kelley resigned from St. Aidan's in Cumberland in 1992 because of "divisiveness" in the parish over his "leadership style." He left RI in 1993 and became a U.S. Army chaplain. In 1994 the Diocese and the East Providence Police Department received a report that Kelley sexually abused a boy over six years, beginning when the boy was 14-years-old in 1976. The abuse allegedly included rape. The boy knew Kelley through the Boy Scouts and said that other boy scouts regularly visited Kelley's home. This accuser died by suicide in 1997. The third allegation was reported anonymously to the Attorney General's Office in 2002. The Diocese was informed. In 5/2021 Kelley was arrested in SC for the alleged sexual assault of a boy in 1983 in North Smithfield RI. In 7/2021 he was reportedly being held at Eleanor Slater Hospital in RI, where he was to be evaluated. Kelley's accuser said he lived in rectories with Kelley as a boy in the 1980s, that it had been reported to diocesan officials, but that he continued living with Kelley. Further, he said another boy who was "close" to Kelley as a boy died by suicide in adulthood. Kelley was removed from ministry in Charleston SC in 2015 due to a relationship with an adult woman. He was ruled incompetent to stand trial in 2/2022, due to advanced dementia, and died 9/26/2022. Included in 2/2026 on the Providence diocese's list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Joseph Gerard Raymond Lacasse

Donate Photo

Order: OMI
Ordained: 1958
Status: Accused

Died: 10/7/2018
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Assigned in the Philippines 1959-1973. Subsequently lived and/or worked in RI, CT, MA and CA. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2010 the Diocese of Providence received a report that Lacasse sexually assaulted a girl sometime between 1968 and 1970, when the girl was between ages 8 and 11. The alleged victim said that she was staying at the Oblate Home overnight for a "teen program" and that Lacasse went into her room, locked the door, laid on top of her and "forcibly kissed her on the mouth." The Oblates told the Diocese that since 1996 there were four other complaints about Lacasse, of the sexual assault of adult women. His faculties were revoked by the Diocese in 1997 after two complaints and he was sent in 1/1997 to St. John Vianney Center in PA for treatment. In late 1997 he went to live at the Oblate Foreign Mission House in Lowell MA. Lacasse was released from his vows, at his request, in 2012. He reportedly continued to live with the Oblates until his death 10/7/2018. (Per his brother's obituary in 2009, Lacasse was living in San Fernando CA, home of Oblate-run parish, St. Ferdinand.)

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Michael V. LaMountain

Ordained: 1976
Status: Guilty plea

Died: 08/25/2010
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Seminarian in Baltimore MD 1972-1976. Ordained in 1976 for the Diocese of Providence RI. LaMountain was pastor of St. John's in West Warwick RI when suspended in 3/1995 after two men came forward with allegations that he sexually abused them as boys. The suspension came after Bishop Gelineau learned that the victims had spoken with police. The Diocese had known for years that LaMountain had sexually abused children. He was indicted in 10/1997 on criminal charges of the sexual abuse of five boys, as young as age 10, from the 1970s-1990s. He pleaded guilty in 1/1999 to nine counts and was sentenced to nine 12-year suspended sentences, to run concurrently. At least two civil suits were filed in 12/1995. Claims were settled in 9/2002 as part of a $13.5M mass settlement involving 36 victims and the Diocese. Accused in 2001 of sexually abusing a 7th- or 8th-grade boy in Baltimore between 1972-1974. The victim reported the abuse to police in 1993 - LaMountain was not charged. The mother of another boy reported in 2002 that her son, who was deceased by 2002, "spent time" at age 14 with LaMountain and later accused seminarian Vernon Dahmen in the mid-1970s. This boy had been named by the previous accuser as a possible LaMountain victim. Included on the Baltimore archdiocese's list of accused in 9/2002. In mid-August 2010 a man alleged abuse by LaMountain, including rape, at ages 9-11 in the early 1980s. LaMountain died 8/25/2010. In 2015 a man reported that LaMountain sexually abused him between ages 8-10 in the 1970s. He said he told a nun, but no action. Included 7/1/2019 on the Providence diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 4/5/2023 MD Attorney General's Report. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which shows that LaMountain was accused of sexually abusing at least seven other boys and young men. Also, in 1976 a supervisor just prior to ordination said he felt that LaMountain should not be so close to youths. in 1984 LaMountain wrote apology letters to some of his victims, saying he was receiving professional help. In 10/1989 he was sent in for evaluation at the Sexual Disorders Clinic at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore MD, resulting in the recommendation that LaMountain should "avoid unsupervised contact with adolescent males."

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Norman Leboeuf

Ordained: 1937
Status: Accused

Died: 03/30/1983
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died 3/30/1983. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2018 a man reported to the Diocese that Leboeuf sexually abused him at ages 14-15 in 1965 or 1966, while Leboeuf was assigned to St. Agnes Parish in Providence. The man said that Leboeuf fondled him during a car ride home from a wedding, where he had served as an altar boy. He said Leboeuf then called him at home and asked him to go to the rectory so he could apologize, and that when he did, Leboeuf tried to kiss him and touch his genitals. Further, he said he told a close friend about the incidents after they happened; the friend confirmed this with State Police in 2024.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Fr. Paul Henry Leech

Ordained: 1980
Status: Guilty plea

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 5/4/1984. Sent to the House of Affirmation in MA. Arrested. Pleaded no contest in 8/1985 to eight counts of sexually assaulting 4 boys, ages 10-16, between 1979 and 1984. Sentenced in 10/1985 to eighty-six years in prison, but after a plea for leniency was given three years in prison and twelve years' probation. In 1994 a civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of one youth. Per the suit, prior to 1980 Leech was known to the bishop to have a habit of making advances on young boys. Another suit may have been filed in 1985. In 2014 a man told the Diocese that Leech sexually abused him on one occasion 1979-1980. In 7/2020 the Diocese received a report that Leech sexually abused a boy in summer 1984. Neither case could be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations. Included on the Diocese's list 7/1/2019. Reportedly in 2020 Leech was living in Rochester, NY, and going by his first name, Paul. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Roland M. Lepire

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1975
Status: Settled

Died: 02/25/2025
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's report, which shows that Lepire is the subject of allegations of the sexual abuse of at least six boys, ages 8-14, occurring 1975-1980. In 1979 the mother of an 8-year-old boy who had disclosed to her abuse by Lepire, took the boy to the Woonsocket Police Department to report the abuse. A a detective later told her that Bishop Gelineau offered to removed Lepire from the parish and send him to counseling if she refrained from pressing charges. Lepire was soon moved to another parish and continued to abuse. Lepire in 2003 said that he told Gelineau in 1980 that he had molested four boys at his new parish, so he was sent that summer to a community of Brothers as chaplain. He was assigned in 9/1980 to another parish, and abused two more boys. He remained in active ministry until being placed on leave in 2/1996 by Gelineau, who wrote to Lepire that the leave was because of "the nature of the publicity that has arisen as a result of the accusations... ." In 2/1996 a 29-year-old man filed suit, accusing Lepire of sexually abusing him as a boy on several occasions in 1978. Lepire was sent in 5/1996 to St. John Vianney in PA for a psychiatric evaluation, where he admitted to sexually abusing boys. Claims against Lepire were settled in 9/2002 as part of a $13.5M mass settlement involving 36 victims of priest abuse in the Providence diocese. Another suit filed in 2003 alleged abuse in the early 1980s. Lepire was laicized in 2004. The 2003 lawsuit settled in 8/2008 as part of $1.326M settlement by Providence diocese. Lepire died 2/26/2025.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Alfred C. Lonardo

Ordained: 1963
Status: Accused

Died: 07/9/2022
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Parish priest, pastor; Diocesan Director of Catholic Family Services; prison chaplain. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In early 2022 man reported in to RI State Police and the Attorney General's Office that he was sexually abused between 1994 and 1996, beginning when he was 15, by Lonardo and Fr. Daniel Azzarone. The priests were assigned to St. Mary Parish in Cranston. Lonardo was pastor. The accuser said that Azzarone began to sexually abuse him after he went to him to disclose an incident of sexual abuse by Lonardo. Azzarone pleaded no contest in 2005 to sexually abusing children. In 2002, after Azzarone was indicted, a parishioner anonymously wrote in a letter to the Diocese that Lonardo was aware of Azzarone's abuse of children and that Lonardo had also abused children, on his own and with Azzarone. The parishioner said that liquor and drugs were involved, and that Lonardo hosted "young men" overnight in the rectory. The A.G. investigator discovered written on the bottom of the letter "we do not take into consideration anonymous letters." Lonardo resigned as St. Mary's pastor two weeks later and went to the North American College in Rome for a few months on sabbatical. In 11/2002 a College seminarian alleged that Lonardo had touched his groin area without his consent. Lonardo was sent to treatment and was returned to parish ministry in RI 5/2003. He retired in 2007 and died 7/9/2022.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

Fr. Philip A. Magaldi

Ordained: 1960
Status: Settled

Died: 08/12/2008
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Magaldi was ordained for the Diocese of Providence in 1960. He left Providence in 1988 after claims of financial mismanagement. He was accepted into the Diocese of Ft. Worth by Bishop Delaney in 1990. In 1992 he pleaded guilty to embezzlement in Rhode Island, then returned to ministry in Ft. Worth after eight months in a halfway house. In 1997 a young man alleged told the Ft. Worth Diocese that Magaldi would pay him to give him enemas. Magaldi was still active until 1999, after an allegation that he raped a boy and paid the boy to give him enemas in the 1970s, while Magaldi was assigned in Rhode Island. The accuser filed suit in 1998; it was dropped when he died in 10/2000. Magaldi was removed briefly from ministry by Fr. Worth in 1999, was reinstated, then removed permanently in 2001. He was HIV positive. Laicization was requested. He died in 8/2008. Another claim settled 8/21/2012 in Ft. Worth. In 2017 a man claimed in a lawsuit that Magaldi sexually abused him in RI beginning when he was about age 7 in 1965. Included 7/1/2019 on the Providence diocese's list of credibly accused. A lawsuit filed in 9/2019 claimed abuse of a boy, ages 12-17, in the late 1970s-early 1980s, while Magaldi was pastor of St. Anthony's in Providence. The suit was dismissed, the judge ruling that church leadership cannot be labeled "perpetrators." The RI Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in 6/2023. The plaintiff also filed suit NY in 10/2020 claiming Magaldi sexually abused him during a trip to NYC in 1983; the suit was dismissed. Included in the 2/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that Magaldi has been accused of the sexual abuse of nine boys. His modus operandi is said to have involved targeting vulnerable, at-risk boys, lavishing them with gifts and money and threatening them. His known victims were as young as age 7 through early adulthood, and the sexual abuse included rape.

Assignments:

Documents:

RI Supreme Court Ruling 06.30.23

Sources:

Fr. Thomas Dente Kofi Manu

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1973
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Extern priest from Ghana. Worked during summers 1980-2007 at Prudence Island and St. Mary Parish in Bristol. Named publicly as accused in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report. In 2005 the Diocese received a report that Manu groped and kissed a 13-year-old girl in 1980, further sexually abused her several times in 1982, then raped her in 1984. She told her parents in 2004, who told the Diocese. The Diocese deemed the allegations credible and informed law enforcement; the woman did not want to continue with a criminal investigation. Manu was allowed to continue his summer ministry in the diocese. It ended when the alleged victim's father complained in 10/2007. Per the A.G.'s Report, Manu is believed to have died in 2023.

Assignments:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Sources:

RI A.G. Report 03.04.26

Fr. Robert A. Marcantonio

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1967
Status: Settled

Died: 10/20/1999
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Bishop Reilly knew in 1970 that Marcantonio had molested 12- to 14-year-old boys. A RI psychiatrist who evaluated Marcantonio that year said that Marcantonio had had "homosexual relationships" with as many as ten to fifteen boys. Marcantonio was sent to Ames, IA for treatment and was allowed parish and school ministry in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. While in IA he earned a PhD in psychology. He was also reportedly on the Board of Directors of the Boys Club of Ames. He continued to abuse. In 1975 Marcantonio moved to the Providence and Fall River, MA and dioceses, where he worked in counseling at colleges and was allowed parish ministry. In 9/1981 two teenage boys reported to the Providence Diocese that Marcantonio had propositioned them. He was kept in ministry. He was removed 8/16/1989 after a report that Marcantonio had sexually abused an altar boy in Ames IA 1973-1975, beginning when the boy was 13. The alleged abuse included rape. Marconion was sent for a psychological evaluation and Bishop Gelineau "granted" him a sabbatical to pursue studies at URI in Kingston. The alleged victim filed suit in 12/1989 in TX. It was dismissed on jurisdiction issues and refiled in 1990 in IA. The same plaintiff filed another suit 1991 in IA, naming more defendants; it settled by 1994. Six suits were filed in 1993 and one in 1994 in RI. Some claims were included in a 9/2002 settlement with the Providence diocese. Marcantonio died 10/20/1999. One claim settled in 8/2008 as part of a $1.326M settlement by the Providence diocese. Cited in a 11/2008 RICO suit. Included 7/1/2019 on the Providence diocese's list of credibly accused. Included in the 3/4/2026 RI Attorney General's Report, which notes that Marcantonio has been accused of sexually abusing at least 17 boys.

Fr. Daniel McCallion

Donate Photo

Order: LC
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Accused in a federal lawsuit filed in 4/2021 of sexually abusing a girl, age 13, in the 1990s while she was a student at the Legionaries Immaculate Conception Academy in Rhode Island. Per the suit, the abuse occurred during confession.

Sources:

Union Leader 04.29.21

Fr. Joseph G. McCra

Ordained: 1932
Status: Accused

Died: 05/14/1964
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Died in 1964. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 2/2/2026.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Robert J. McIntyre

Ordained: 1963
Status: Sued

Died: 06/23/2020
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

At least two civil lawsuits filed in 1992 and 1993 named McIntyre as responsible for covering up abuse at the RI Catholic orphanage, St. Aloysius Home, where he was director, and conspiring to prevent proper reporting procedures. One man alleges that McIntyre also participated in his sexual abuse. In a civil trial in 1999 the jury found no evidence to support the charges. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused, which notes that McIntyre was removed from ministry 3/30/1994. Died 6/23/2020.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Barry Meehan

Ordained: 1978
Status: Arrested

Died: 12/8/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Meehan worked in parishes in West Warwick, Cranston, and Providence. In 12/2012 a man reported to the Diocese that Meehan had sexually assaulted him between 1986 and 1991, when the man was a teenage boy. State Police were notified; during their investigation a second accuser was discovered who said Meehan sexually abused him when he was a teenager in 1991 and 1992. Meehan was placed on leave in 1/2013. He denied the allegations. In 11/2014 he was arrested and charged with five counts of first degree sexual assault; he pleaded not guilty. Meehan was laicized 6/7/2015. He died of a heart attack 12/8/2016, at age 67, while awaiting trial. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused.

Fr. Richard L. Meglio

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1972
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 4/22/1988. A man filed a civil lawsuit accusing Meglio of molesting him as a minor in the 1970s when, Meglio was assigned to Our Lady of Grace in Johnston, and the accuser was hospitalized for "psychological problems." The abuse allegedly continued after the boy was released from the hospital. The suit settled in 2002 as part of $13.5 mil mass settlement. Included on the diocese's list 7/1/2019.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Adrien Menard

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1946
Status: Accused

Died: 02/1/1976
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019 (first name misspelled Adrian.) Died 2/1/1976. Allegation(s) received after his death.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Diocese of Providence List 07.01.19

Fr. Edmund C. Micarelli

Ordained: 1959
Status: Settled

Died: 07/12/2019
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 4/17/1990. A civil lawsuit filed in 1993 and six filed in 1995 alleged that Micarelli sexually abused at least seven boys, one for seven years. The suits claim that Bishop Gelineau and Auxiliary Bishop Angell knew of Micarelli's behavior prior to 1962. Claims against Micarelli were settled in 9/2002 as part of a $13.5M settlement involving 36 victims. Reportedly in 2007 Micarelli was living in Florida and "cannot function as a priest." A 2012 article references his involvement in the Boy Scouts and his cover-up of at least one abuser. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Died 7/12/2019.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. William C. O’Connell

Ordained: 1950
Status: Convicted

Died: 01/12/1996
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Assigned to four parishes in three years, then became a Navy chaplain 1953-1958. Resigned to avoid court martial for "criminal homosexual contact." Reassigned in Providence. Sexual abuse of three boys 1965-1972 was alleged in a lawsuit settled 6/11/1993 and a 10/31/1994 RICO suit. Pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse of three boys 1972-1985; sentenced 6/23/1986 to five years, four suspended. Sent to St. Luke Institute for treatment. Retired in 1986 to Camden. Pleaded guilty 12/19/1994 to sexual assault and making child pornography; sentenced to ten years in 2/1995. Other lawsuits part of 9/9/2002 and 3/2003 settlements. Died 5/12/1996. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused.

Fr. William O’Neill

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1968
Status: Accused

Died: 05/3/2000
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Left ministry 7/10/1971. Died 5/3/2000. Allegation(s) received after his death.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Diocese of Providence List 07.01.19

Fr. John N. Petrocelli

Ordained: 1971
Status: Charged

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 8/22/2002. Accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy in the late 1980s. The court denied the Diocese's Motion to Dismiss Negligence Claims on 9/20/2007. Claim settled in 8/2008 as part of a $1.326M settlement by the Diocese. Included on the Diocese's list 7/1/2019. In 10/2020 a lawsuit against the diocese by a man alleging abuse as a boy by Petrocelli was dismissed, the judge ruling that church leadership cannot be labeled "perpetrators." The RI Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in 6/2023. Petrocelli was indicted 11/2/2020 by a statewide grand jury on charges of abuse of three young boys, occurring 11/1981-10/1990 while assigned to Holy Family in Woonsocket. He pleaded not guilty.

Fr. Hugh P. Rafferty

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1964
Status: Accused

Died: 01/11/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Assigned in the Diocese of Providence 1964-1967, then in the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Boston, Norwich, Paterson, Worcester and in Ireland. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese of Providence on its list 7/1/2019. Removed from ministry 11/1/1974. Died 1/11/2001. Allegation(s) received after his death. Included in 3/2021 on the Rockville Centre diocese's list of accused, which notes alleged abuse at St. Aidan's in Williston Park, where Rafferty was assigned 1/1969-6/1971.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. William J. Raiche

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1932
Status: Accused

Died: 03/26/1983
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Died 3/26/1983. Allegation(s) received after Raiche's death.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Diocese of Providence List 07.01.19

Fr. Joseph James Rocha

Order: OP
Ordained: 1966
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Worked in the dioceses/archdioceses of Washington DC, Boston, Nashville, Providence. Left the priesthood in 1986, laicized in 1988. Reportedly in 9/2001, pleaded guilty to 1999 the sexual assault of a 21-year-old mentally disabled man; sentenced to 10 years probation and counseling. Ordered to register as a sex offender. Died in 2009. Included on Attorney Garabedian's list 3/28/2016 of accused clerics named in civil claims resulting in settlements or arbitration awards. Settlement with his Order 11/2015 for the alleged abuse of a minor 1968-1969 at St. Stephen's Priory in Dover MA. Included on the Dominican Province of St. Joseph's list in late 2018. On the Providence diocese's list 7/1/2019.

Assignments:

Sources:

Deacon Edward J. Sadowski, Jr.

Ordained: 1979
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Arrested in MA in 2001 after arranging over the internet to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He wanted sex and to take pornographic photos of the girl. He also sent nude photos of himself. The Diocese immediately placed him on leave. Sentenced in 2002 to two years in prison and five years' probation. Also arrested in RI on similar charges. Arrested again in RI in 12/2009 for internet solicitation and child pornography. Convicted in 7/2010 in VA. In prison in 2/2011. Case referred to the Vatican. Included on the Diocese's list 7/1/2019. Convicted again in 9/2022 in MA of child pornography possession, per the RI sex offender registry. Living in 6/2025 in Warwick, RI.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Francis C. Santilli

Ordained: 1980
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Placed on leave in 2/2022 due to an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor in 1979 or 1980. Pastor of St. Philip in Greenville since 2010 when suspended. Per the Diocese, it received an allegation on 12/29/2021 against a priest currently active in the diocese, without naming him. State police investigated and interviewed the alleged victim, who named Santilli, then informed the Diocese 2/2/2022. Unable to criminally prosecute due to the statute of limitations. The Diocese had received reports of the sexual abuse of minors by Santilli twice before: in 2012 a man alleged abuse as a young altar in the early 1980s, and said Santilli also molested his brother; in 2014 a man alleged abused by Santilli as an altar boy, age 10, in 1980 at Our Lady of Lourdes in Providence. One alleged victim is known to have died by suicide. The Diocesan Review Board determined that both the 2012 and 2014 allegations lacked credibility, and Santilli was kept in ministry. Lawsuit filed in 5/2022. Included as of 2/2026 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Peter J. Scagnelli

Ordained: 1976
Status: Accused

Died: 07/12/2017
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Removed from ministry 1/1/1994. Died 7/12/2017.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. James M. Silva

Ordained: 1967
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 3/1/1993. Two men filed suit in 1994. Seven more men filed civil suits alleging they were sexually abused as children by Silva in the 1960s-1980s. Criminal charges were also filed in 1994. Silva admitted in court that he sexually abused a young man. Received a 7-year suspended sentence and was ordered to undergo counseling. Eight claims were settled by the diocese as part of a $13.5M mass settlement in 9/2002 (one may have settled earlier). Multiple transfers after initial notice. Included on the Providence diocese's list 7/1/2019. On the Santa Fe archdiocese's list 5/19/2021, which notes he was at Via Coeli in Jemez Springs in 1981 and at a Jemez Springs parish. Indicted in 11/2021 on charges of abuse of a boy under the age of 14 1989-1990, after an investigation by the A.G. and RI State Police.

Assignments:

Sources:

Sister Mary Claudine

Donate Photo

Order: RSM
Status: Settled

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Name included in the Diocese's 9/2002 $13.5M mass settlement in 36 sexual abuse lawsuits alleging abuse by 11 priests and a nun.

Sources:

Providence Journal-Bulletin 09.10.02

Fr. Brendan Smyth

Order: OPraem
Ordained: 1951
Status: Convicted

Died: 08/22/1997
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

From Ireland. Full name John Gerard Brendan Smyth. Worked in RI, ND and MA in the US. Likely abused over 50 boys and girls, in Ireland and the US. Sentenced to four years in jail in Ireland in 1995 on 17 counts of assaulting five girls and four boys 1964-1988. Sentenced in 7/1997 to 12 years for abusing 20 boys and girls. Died in prison in 8/1997. Two people sued Smyth's order in 6/2010. Settlements 1998-1999 to three Dublin relatives who sued the Kilmore bishop after finding the Diocese knew Smyth abused children prior to his abusing them. Denied by a court of appeals in 11/2015; appealed in 2/2016. Lawsuit filed in 6/2008 in Providence RI claiming abuse in 1968 of a boy and girl; dismissed due to the statute of limitations. In 9/2016 one of the two filed a complaint with the RI State Ethics Commission against Supreme Court judge Francis X. Flaherty, who oversaw the ruling; Flaherty had not disclosed his leadership role with a Catholic nonprofit. The Commission ruled "probable cause" in 4/2017. Included on the Providence diocese's list of credibly accused 7/1/2019. On the Fargo diocese's list 1/2/2020.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. William Tanguay

Ordained: 1969
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Removed from ministry 6/17/2002. Accused of abuse in RI 1965-1981. Also worked in Minneapolis, MN and the Diocese of Charlotte.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Peter L. Tedeschi

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1960
Status: Accused

Died: 10/18/1986
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

In testimony before the RI Senate Judiciary Committee in 3/2019, a 73-year-old woman said Tedeschi sexually abused her for over a year, when she was in middle school and Tedeschi was assigned to Holy Trinity in Central Falls. She said her family lived across the street from the parish and that the abuse occurred in the sanctuary, rectory, his car, and in school hallways. She said it continued after he left Holy Trinity and she was a Sacred Heart High School student. Further, when she was 15, she allegedly told another priest during confession and he told her never to tell. She said she confronted Tedeschi when she was age 22, and he admitted his behavior. She also said she told the Diocese. She again informed the Diocese in 2012, and they contacted law enforcement. Tedeschi died 10/18/1986. Included on the diocese's list 7/1/2019.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. John Tormey

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1967
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Named publicly as accused by the Diocese on its list 7/1/2019. Noted to have resigned from ministry 3/2/1979. Allegations were reported to the Diocese in 2003. Tormey denied the allegations. In 12/2018 he filed a defamation suit against the Diocese and Bishop Tobin.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Fr. Biagio Samuel Turillo

Donate Photo

Ordained: 1946
Status: Accused

Died: 07/17/2023
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

The Diocese announced on 6/30/2016 that Turiilo, age 96, was "prohibited from exercising the sacred ministry" due to a credible allegation against him of the sexual misconduct of a minor. The misconduct was alleged to have occurred about 60 years previously. He was assigned to Holy Angels in Barrington 1954-1962. Turillo retired in 1994. Included 7/1/2019 on the Diocese's list of credibly accused. Died 7/17/2023.

Assignments:

Sources:

Fr. Armand Ventre

Ordained: 1957
Status: Acquitted

Died: 01/27/1999
Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Assigned to our Lady of Good Help Parish 1980-1985. Indicted 8/1985 for sexually molesting two altar boys and one mentally handicapped youth 1981-1984. In 1986 the judge dismissed the charges concerning the two altar boys; the following day the judge found Ventre not guilty of abuse of the third boy in a non-jury trial. Ventre returned to active ministry as chaplain at a VA Hospital, and then another hospital. Retired in 1/1999. Died 12/27/1999. Included 7/1/2019 on the diocese's list of credibly accused, which notes only that he was removed from ministry 7/5/2985.

Assignments:

Diocese of Providence Assignment Record

Sources:

Br. John M. Walderman

Order: CFC
Status: Sued

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Assigned to Blessed Sacrament High School in NYC 1971-1976, then Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester NY 1977-1982. Principal of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, RI 1/1/1986 when arrested and indicted for soliciting sex from a male minor. Charge dropped in 1987. Transferred to Cardinal Hayes High School in Bronx NY 1987-1991, then to Rice High School in Harlem NY 1991-2001. Assigned to Edmund Rice Institute in Australia 2001-2005, then back to Rice High in Harlem. Was principal of Rice until Order received a letter about his 1986 arrest.

Documents:

Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, No 07-102959

Sources:

Our Database of Publicly Accused does not state or imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in the database are merely allegations. 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.