Catholic Dioceses of Burlington Releases List of Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse
Recently, the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Burlington in Vermont joined the many other Dioceses across the nation who have decided to release the names of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse. Bishop Christopher J. Coyne took over the Dioceses of Burlington in January 2015 and in October 2018 he decided to investigate sexual abuse allegations in the Dioceses.
An independent committee of seven citizens were tasked with reviewing documents and personnel files from 1950 to 2019 to identify priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse filed against them by victims under the age of 18 at the time of the incident. In the report released by the Dioceses, the committee explains that it used three criteria to define a credible allegation against a priest. If an allegation met one or more of the following standards it was agreed to be credible:
- Natural, plausible, and probable;
- Corroborated with other evidence or another source, or
- Acknowledged/admitted to by the accused
The committee found 39 priests who had been credibly accused and another who had been accused in Iowa, but did not have any accusations during his time in Vermont. Over half of the accused have died and 12 have either left the ministry or were removed from their position. The names and information of the accused have been posted on the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Burlington website. The information obtained by the committee was also turned over to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
The Dioceses hopes that releasing the names of the accused to the public may offer healing and much overdue consolation to the victims.
Contact Baron & Budd
Victims of these types of sexual abuse have suffered in silence long enough. If you are a victim, you should know there is something that may be done to ease your pain and suffering. You may be able to seek justice for the emotional and physical harm inflicted upon you and for the betrayal by those you should have been able to trust. Let the experienced attorneys at Baron & Budd fight for you. Call us at or online.