List of Accused Priests in Washington, DC
In Washington, DC, clergy sexual abuse has left deep scars on survivors, impacting their lives profoundly. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers is dedicated to supporting these survivors, advocating for their rights, and pursuing justice against perpetrators and institutions responsible for their egregious acts of abuse.
| LastName | FirstName | Diocese | Status | Accusations (Summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melody | Owen John | Archdiocese for the Military Services, Washington DC | Convicted | Roland Melody, a Navy chaplain, was sentenced to 20 years suspended sentence, 10 years probation and 5 years of therapy for abusing a girl for three years. |
| Bucca | Salvatore F. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | First named publicly as accused on archdiocese’s list 10/15/2018. Abuse reported in 1978 and noted to have been “possibly sexual.” Removed from ministry in 1978. |
| Bellwoar | John F.X. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Jesuit priest named publicly as accused of abuse in the 1950s-1960s in Prince George’s County, MD and Washington DC. |
| Bell | Lawrence | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Sued | Accused in a 10/2023 lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy in the 1990s at St. Martin of Tours in Gaithersburg, MD. Bell’s accuser also alleged abuse at the parish by Msgr. Michael Mellone. Suspended pending investigation. |
| Benham | Francis A. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | In 2005, Benham pled guilty to molesting a 15-year-old boy and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 2 concurrent 10-year sentences, all but 18 months suspended, and placed on sex offender registry. |
| Butler | John Fabian | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Religious Brother, professed vows 1941, accused of abuse in late 2018. No indication as to when or where abuse was said to have occurred. |
| Casey | Martin J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | The Maryland Province Jesuits were first told of the allegation of abuse in 2002, after Casey’s death in 2006. |
| Callahan | Raymond C. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Callahan was removed from ministry in 1971, criminally convicted but apparently did not serve prison time, laicized in 1977, and died in 1996. |
| Coyne | Joseph B. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Monsignor. First named publicly as accused on the archdiocese’s list 10/15/2018. Report to archdiocese in 1992. Coyne retired in 1994 and his faculties were removed in 1995. He died in 1999. |
| Jr. | Thomas C. Chleboski, | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Chleboski began abusing boys prior to ordination and was removed from ministry in 1990. He was convicted of sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys in 1991 and was sentenced to prison for 22 years and 15 years probation. |
| Cote | Aaron Joseph | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | An 18 year old male filed suit in 2005 alleging abuse in 2001-2002 while attending Mother Seton parish in Germantown MD. Cote transferred to RI and was later found guilty of abuse in 2008 and received 10 years probation. |
| DeRea | Philip | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Sued | Catholic chaplain for the Indy Racing League since 1971. Placed on leave in 2010 after the Order learned of allegations that he had abused a boy for about 8 years. |
| Devoe | John J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Br. Brennan. Joined the Xaverians in 1949. Named publicly as accused on the order’s list 7/12/2019. Allegation received in 1991 of abuse in the mid-1960s in Leonardtown, MD. Removed from ministry in 1991. Died in 2005. |
| Dooley | R. Joseph | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Sued | Monsignor Dooley, a long-time chaplain of the Catholic Police and Firemen’s Society in Hyattsville, was removed from parish ministry in 1992, worked as Coordinator for Sick and Retired Priests 1992-1995, then retired without faculties. He died in 2002. |
| Dillard | Russell L. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Dillard was suspended from active ministry in 2002 after two sisters alleged he kissed and fondled them when they were teenagers. |
| Finan | James Aubrey | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | Removable from ministry in 1996 after a report of abuse, pleaded guilty in 1997 to sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 5 years probation. |
| Gallagher | Roger P. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | First named publicly as accused on the archdiocese’s list 10/15/2018. It notes that the archdiocese first first received a report of abuse by Gallagher in 1992, and that he was removed from ministry. He died in 2012. |
| Gardiner | George | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Br. Barton was named publicly as accused by the Xaverians in 2019 of abuse at a summer camp in the mid-1960s. |
| Kelly | Arthur E. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Named as credibly accused by the Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province on its list 4/18/2021, abusing teenage gang members in 1971 in Washington DC, and dismissed from the Order in 1987. |
| Hartel | Edward T. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Settled | Hartel sexually abused an altar boy on one occasion between 1975 and 1978, was arrested, and was acquitted on another allegation because of identification problems. He died in 2013. |
| Kenneally | Finbar | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | The Santa Barbara Province Franciscans named him publicly as accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 1962-1964. |
| McCutcheon | Peter M. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | McCutcheon was removed from ministry, charged, and sentenced to 25 years in jail for sexually abusing boys between 1981 and 1985. A civil suit was filed against the Archdiocese and McCutcheon, and settled in 1988. |
| Lyons | Thomas W. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Auxiliary Bishop Lyons was named publicly as accused in 2018 of sexual abuse of children. One man said he was sexually abused by Lyons from ages 7-17. |
| Mellone | Michael J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Sued | Monsignor Mellone was accused of sexually abusing a boy at St. Martin of Tours. |
| Miles | Matthew | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Miles admitted sodomizing young boys in Washington, D.C. and abusing at least one youth at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD. |
| Montgomery | James F. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Monsignor. Pastor of Annunciation Parish from 1972 until his death in 2000. Former director of Catholic Charities. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Archdiocese on its list in 7/2023. Abuse was reported to the Archdiocese in 2020. |
| O’Brien | Arthur J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | The WDC Archdiocese said it received a first report against O’Brien of abuse in 1983. O’Brien was accused of sexual abuse of a boy in MD 1984-1985, and a boy in Hawaii age 10 in 1989. |
| Orr | Garrett D. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | In 2003 a student reported to Georgetown Prep that Orr had sexually abused him in 2002. In 2004 he was assigned as chaplain at Loyola University but was terminated in 2006 after an investigation by the Jesuits found the allegations “substantially true”. |
| Powderly | James J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Indicted | Powderly was accused of sexually abusing a boy from 1974 to 1977, and of abusing the boy’s sister. He died in 2004. |
| Petrella | Robert Joseph | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Per the Archdiocese, a first report of abuse was received in 1966. The priest was permanently removed in 1989 after more allegations, indicted and convicted in 1997 for the sexual abuse of 10-year-old boy, and laicized in 2003. |
| Pritchard | Edward B. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | Arrested in 1995, pleaded guilty to abuse of three altar boys, and was permanently removed from ministry. He died in 2002. |
| Shea | John J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Br. Jeron. Joined the Xaverians in 1953. Left in 1970. Named publicly by the Order as accused on its list 7/12/2019. Allegation reported in 2004 of abuse in Leonardtown in the late 1960s. Deceased. |
| Pyne | Thomas E. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Listed on the Jesuits Maryland Province list of those with reasonable possibility of having sexually abused minors. |
| Jr. | Joseph Skelton, | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Skelton was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in the summer of 1984. He resigned from the seminary in MI in 1988 after pleading guilty to abusing a 15-year-old boy in a seminary room. |
| Schapfel | Michael | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | After allegations that he had molested numerous girls and young women in Germany, he was returned to Germany. |
| Schaefer | Thomas S. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Schaeffer was arrested in 1995, convicted in 1996 of abuse of 5, sent to live at St. John Vianney in St. Louis, and died in 2009 after being included in a $1.3M settlement with the Archdiocese. |
| Scott | James A. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Scott was first named publicly as accused by the Archdiocese in 2018 and died in 2013. |
| Slevin | Timothy | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Slevin was treated for fondling children in 1972, separated from the priesthood in 1974, laicized in 1978, and admitted to police in 1986 that he abused six boys in six years. |
| Smith | Alphonsus M. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | Smith admitted to having an affair with a youth, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and died in 2005. His claims were included in a $1.3M settlement with the Archdiocese. |
| Daley | Margaret | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Sued | In the early 1970s, a woman said Daley sexually abused her in an office at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, MD. She filed a lawsuit in 2023. |
| Spoelker | Philip | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | Brother Jude was accused of abuse in 1982, pleaded guilty in 2007, and served 18 months in prison. He was placed on a safety plan in 2003 and was to move to the Xaverian Brothers in Venice FL in 2009. |
| Jr. | George A. Stallings, | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Settled | Stallings was accused of past abuse of a 16-year-old boy, another man claimed Stallings abused him 1976-1984, and Stallings was excommunicated but claims he left because of racism. |
| Twiddy | Paul T. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Twiddy was first named publicly as accused by the WDC Archdiocese on its 10/15/18 list, and was sent for evaluation and treatment in 1968. He retired in 1986. |
| Stock | William McSherry | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Guilty plea | Stock left the priesthood in 1985. A man reported him sexually assaulting him at age 17 in 1980. |
| Vazquez-Ortega | Urbano | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | The victim’s mother informed the priest in 2015, but the police were not notified until 10/26/2018. |
| Walsh | William J. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | Walsh was recalled from China in 1996, assigned to the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, and sent to St. Luke institute for treatment. Five of Walsh’s nieces made their allegations public in 1998, and Walsh lived until his death in 2018 at age 95. |
| Wert | William C. | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Convicted | Order was assigned in Ontario Canada, Milwaukee WI, Middletown NY, Houston TX, Washington DC, Encino CA, Joliet and Chicago IL. He was charged in 2007 with the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to life in prison in 2013. |
| Zelaya | Miguel Umana | Archdiocese of Washington DC and MD | Accused | First named publicly as accused on the archdiocese’s list 10/15/2018. Removed from ministry in 2000 after a report of abuse. Laicized in 2003. |
About Clergy Sexual Abuse
Clergy sexual abuse refers to instances where a clergy member exploits their position by sexually abusing individuals under their care. This abuse can range from inappropriate touching and grooming to more severe forms of sexual assault. Those who have been sexually abused often experience profound emotional trauma, including feelings of shame, guilt, and mistrust. It’s essential for survivors of abuse to know that they are not alone, and legal action can help them reclaim their dignity and hold accountable those who have sexually assaulted them.
Table of Contents
Moreover, it is important to understand that Washington, DC, is one of the 13 states that have declared it illegal for clergy members to engage in possible sexual misconduct with anyone they are counseling, regardless of their age. Also, sexual abuse is used as a broad term to encompass other forms of exploitation, including but not limited to:
- Sexual jokes and indirect language
- Voyeurism
- Invasion of privacy
- Child pornography
- Stalking
- Rape and sexual assault
Legal Support for Survivors in Washington, DC
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers provides comprehensive legal representation tailored to the unique needs of survivors of abuse by clergy members in Washington, DC. Our firm understands the sensitivity and complexity of these cases and is committed to guiding abuse survivors through every step of the legal process with empathy and expertise. We advocate fiercely for our clients’ rights, ensuring they receive fair compensation and holding responsible parties accountable.
Laws and Regulations in Washington, DC
In Washington, DC, survivors of clergy sexual abuse are protected by specific laws and regulations:
Statutes of Limitations
The DC Code § 12-301 et seq. governs the time limits within which survivors can file civil lawsuits for clergy sexual abuse. Recent legislative changes have extended these limits, providing more time for survivors to seek justice. Now, survivors can file their claim before turning 40 years old. By extending the limit, the state law gives survivors confidence to file lawsuits even years after the abuse occurred.
Mandatory Reporting
Under DC Code § 4-1321.01 et seq., certain professionals and institutions are required to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect, including clergy sexual abuse, to authorities. This helps ensure incidents are documented and investigated promptly.
These laws are designed to protect survivors and punish criminals who are sexually abusing vulnerable members of society. The legislation also holds institutions accountable for their role in allowing suspected sexual misconduct.
Filing a Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuit in Washington DC
Initiating a sexual abuse lawsuit against Church officials in Washington, DC, is a significant step toward justice. The process includes:
- Initial Consultation: A confidential meeting where survivors can share their stories with our legal team.
- Evidence Gathering: Collecting documentation of abuse allegations, witness statements, and other evidence to support the case.
- Legal Proceedings: Navigating court procedures, including filings, motions, and hearings.
- Negotiations or Trial: Pursuing fair compensation through negotiations with defendants or presenting the case in court if a settlement cannot be reached.
Throughout this process, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers ensure survivors are informed, supported, and empowered.
Support Resources for Survivors in Washington, DC
Abuse survivors in Washington DC have access to vital support resources to aid in their recovery:
Counseling Services
DC Victim Hotline provides access to trauma-informed counseling services and outpatient treatment.
Support Groups
Organizations like RAINN offer survivor-led support groups where individuals can connect with others who have experienced similar trauma.
Crisis Hotlines
The DC Rape Crisis Center offers immediate assistance and guidance during times of crisis.
These resources are essential for survivors’ emotional healing and complement the legal support Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers provides.
Notable Cases and Outcomes in Washington, DC
Throughout Washington DC’s history, several significant clergy sexual abuse cases have brought attention to the pervasive issue within religious institutions:
- 1988 Settlement with Rev. Peter M. McCutcheon: The Washington Archdiocese settled a case involving Rev. Peter M. McCutcheon, who was accused of abuse in 1988 for a substantial amount, ensuring confidentiality per the Archdiocese’s request. This case highlighted early efforts to address child sexual abuse and its impact on survivors.
- 2006 Settlement with 16 Survivors: In 2006, the Archdiocese of Washington agreed to a $1.3 million settlement with 16 survivors of child sexual abuse. These survivors won against eight different priests accused of sexual abuse between 1962 and 1982. They received compensation for the harm endured during their formative years, and some of the credibly accused clergy members abandoned the Priesthood after this.
These abuse cases underscore the enduring impact of clergy sexual abuse on survivors and the ongoing efforts to seek justice and accountability from religious institutions. Each settlement represents a step toward healing for survivors and a reminder of the importance of transparency and responsibility in addressing such sensitive issues.
Our attorneys have reviewed public and private settlement data related to Washington, DC, clergy abuse settlements. Depending on the circumstances of your case, these cases may be fairly valued in the $400,000 to $950,000 range. In cases of extreme conduct or if that case were to go before a jury, damages could exceed $1 million.
Why Choose Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers?
When it comes to handling clergy sexual abuse cases in Washington DC, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers offers unparalleled expertise and dedication. Our firm has a deep understanding of the unique legal landscape in DC and has successfully represented numerous survivors of sexual abuse inflicted by the members of the Roman Catholic Church.
Our team has a proven track record of handling complex clergy sexual abuse cases. We have the knowledge and experience to navigate the specific laws and regulations in Washington, DC, ensuring your case is handled with the utmost precision and care.
| $14 Million Priest grooming and handling | $4 Million Deacon assault and rape | $3 Million Clergy child abuse filed in adulthood |
| $3 Million Volunteer-perpetrated Catholic church abuse | $2 Million Religious school priest teen sexual abuse | $2 Million Clergy abuse case filed against a deceased priest |
We specialize in sexual abuse cases and are well-versed in the legal intricacies involved. We stay current with legislative changes and employ innovative legal strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.
Choosing Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers means partnering with a firm that combines legal excellence with heartfelt dedication to justice. Contact us today to begin your journey toward healing and accountability.
Contact Us
For survivors seeking legal assistance in Washington DC, contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers for a confidential consultation.
- Phone: (888) 424-5757
- Email: info@rosenfeldinjurylaw.com
- Contact Form
All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.
