Brooklyn Diocese Settles with New York AG for Mishandling Clergy Sex Abuse Cases

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn to address years of reported mismanaging clergy sexual abuse cases.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, its investigation found the diocese failed to consistently comply with its own procedures for responding to sexual abuse based on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 following media reports of widespread clergy sexual abuse.

The OAG said it also found that the diocese’s policies were not adequate to guarantee the safety and protection of children as they did not ensure a prompt and thorough response to allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct or would arbitrarily apply inconsistent standards of proof when evaluating the credibility of an accusation. In certain instances, when an allegation of sexual misconduct was found to be credible, the diocese did not disclose that information to the public and failed to sufficiently monitor the accused priests or clergy, according to the OAG.

One priest admitted to the diocese he had repeatedly sexually abused minors. He was removed from all pastoral duties, but the diocese did not inform parishioners and the priest stayed on for years before agreeing to be defrocked..

In the 1990s, after learning of problems with another priest’s conduct, the diocese repeatedly transferred the priest from parish to parish to avoid the complaints. The priest was never monitored, nor was he removed from duty. In 2000, a nun who was the principal of a Catholic school in the diocese resigned from her position because she had witnessed the priest having inappropriate interactions with young boys and the diocese did nothing more than issue a warning. In 2006, one of the priest’s alleged victims accused him of more than 100 incidents of sexual abuse. Despite corroborating complaints from multiple individuals including clergy members, a nun and a victim, the diocese concluded that there was not enough evidence. The priest was allowed to continue working unmonitored for many years.

As part of the settlement, the diocese agreed to enhanced policies and procedures for mitigating risks and managing allegations of clergy sexual abuse and misconduct, including publicly posting an explanation of the complaint and investigation process. The diocese will also post online a confidential portal and telephone number for submitting complaints and will implement a whistleblower policy to protect complainants from retaliation by diocesan officials. The diocese has also committed to accelerated investigations.

The diocese’s management of sexual abuse complaints and allegations will be subject to review by an independent monitor.

In October 2022, the OAG reached a settlement with the Buffalo diocese for mishandling child sexual abuse cases. Investigations into the Archdiocese of New York and the Dioceses of Albany, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rockville Centre and Syracuse remain ongoing.

The Roman diocese of Ogdensburg in northern New York said last year that it was filing for bankruptcy protection as it faces more than 100 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse. The Albany diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2023 as it faced more than 400 sex abuse lawsuits.