Rhode Island Report Reveals Decades of Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests

Catholic priests in Rhode Island sexually abused hundreds of children over decades, according to a multiyear investigation led by Attorney General Peter Neronha. The report, released Wednesday, details how bishops prioritized minimizing scandal over protecting victims, maintaining a secret archive to conceal further revelations.

The investigation found that 75 Catholic clergy molested more than 300 victims since 1950, with officials stressing that the actual number of victimized children and abusive priests is likely much higher. The report describes diocesan records as "damning," revealing that accused priests were often transferred to new assignments without thorough investigations or law enforcement involvement.

In the early 1950s, the Diocese of Providence opened a "spiritual retreat-style facility" where several accused priests were sent for treatment with the goal of returning to work. This practice evolved into sending accused priests to more formal "treatment centers." The report criticizes the diocese's "overreliance and misplaced faith" in these treatment centers as "absurdly pollyannaish."

By the 1990s, accused priests were sometimes placed on sabbatical leave. For example, priest Robert Carpentier was accused in 1992 of sexually abusing a 13-year-old victim and confirmed the abuse took place in the 1970s. He resigned, was sent to a treatment center, went on sabbatical at Boston College, and remained on leave until his retirement in 2006, receiving support from the diocese until his death in 2012.

Neronha's office has charged four current and former priests for sexual abuse allegedly committed between 2020 and 2022. Three of these priests are still awaiting trial, while the fourth died after being deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2022. In total, only 26% of the clergy identified in the report faced criminal charges, with just 14 convictions.

One survivor shared a harrowing account of being groomed and sexually abused by Monsignor John Allard at Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston in 1981. Despite the review board deeming the abuse credible, then-Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin intervened to allow Allard to retire without being removed from the priesthood.

The investigation was launched in 2019, following a Pennsylvania grand jury report that found over 1,000 children had been abused by approximately 300 priests since the 1940s. Rhode Island law does not allow grand jury reports to become public, necessitating an agreement with the diocese to access records spanning decades.

The Diocese of Providence responded to the report, acknowledging the abuse but maintaining that it reflects the church's willingness to share internal records under a 2019 agreement with the state. The diocese stated that there are no "credibly accused clergy in active ministry" and praised Bishop Bruce Lewandowski for his cooperation.

Neronha called on Rhode Island lawmakers to change various state laws to remove obstacles for victims coming forward, including extending the criminal statute of limitations on second-degree assault and expanding the civil statute of limitations on certain child sexual abuse claims. He also stressed the need for the diocese to abandon practices such as requiring victims to take polygraph tests and refusing to investigate third-party complaints about priests.