New law allows victims of childhood sexual misconduct to file a claim to seek financial compensation
Anyone abused by a priest or other staff at a Rhode Island Catholic Church, school, camp, or community youth group, should contact us today.
You may be entitled to significant financial compensation.
Your claim can be filed confidentially without public disclosure.
Pintas & Mullins is one of the largest sex abuse law firms in the nation
Contact us today for a 100% confidential and free conversation with one of our female attorneys or paralegals. Thousands of abuse victims are speaking up every year to receive the compensation and justice they deserve.
The Catholic Diocese of Providence has recently come under intensive fire for the sexual misconduct by its priests throughout the state. A recent report by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha revealed decades of horrific abuse, with 75 known abusers and more than 300 known victims.
The Attorney General's report said the actual number of clergy abusers in the state is "far higher" than what the Diocese represents. Neronha's report was released in March 2026 after several years of investigation.
Decades of Abuse
Priests, teachers, and other staff have been named as predators across the state in churches, schools, and even hospitals. The Diocese engaged in an ongoing scheme of shuffling its predators between parishes going back as far as the 1950s.
Reported abuse includes assault, manipulation, grooming, inappropriate touching, and other unspeakable acts against children – typically boys – as young as five-years-old.
Cover-up and Failure to Protect Children
The diocese allowed this abuse to continue across a wide range of its institutions, utterly failing to protect children. In the expansive cover-up, priests were sent to treatment centers, put on sabbatical leave and moved to different parishes, sometimes five or more times, instead of being reported to the police. At the same time the church kept a secret archive documenting the abuse.
The abuse has been reported at:
- Churches and rectories
- Schools and universities
- Church-affiliated hospitals and medical centers
- Camps
- Community youth groups
You are not alone. Our dedicated legal team offers compassionate support to abuse victims. Fill in the form above or call us today for a confidential and free conversation with one of our female attorneys or paralegals.
For a list of Rhode Island Catholic churches and schools, click here.
Your claim can be filed confidentially without public disclosure.
These are the credibly accused clergy in Rhode Island. It is believed there are many others not named:
For more details, please refer to the Rhode Island Attorney General Report here.
Our dedicated legal team offers compassionate support to abuse victims. Fill in the form at the top of the page or call us today for a confidential and free conversation with one of our female attorneys or paralegals.
Father Richard Holden
Priest who served in Rhode Island parishes from 1964 until his death in 1985, documented for abusing five boys. Incidents include repeat harassment of a high school student, forcing inappropriate acts, and abusing a teen during a trip to Massachusetts.
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Reverend Roland Lepire
Priest at St. Matthew’s Church in Central Falls, Rhode Island, groomed a young parishioner with gifts such as candy and home-cooked meals before repeatedly violating him in the church rectory and the priest’s mother’s home.
Monsignor Bernard Lennon
Founder of St. Margaret School in East Providence, repeatedly abused a young elementary school student around 1958 at St. Margaret’s Church.
Reverend John Ferry
Assaulted a 14-year-old student in 1964 at Our Lady of Providence Seminary by luring him to strip under the pretense of a physical fitness evaluation and assaulting him at his mother’s home; AG report names him for abusing multiple other boys.
Father Dennis Brodeur
Repeatedly abused a 13- to 14-year-old boy in the late 1970s and early 1980s at St. Jude’s Parish in Lincoln, Rhode Island, including unspeakable acts in the boy’s bedroom at night.
Father Eugene Corbesero
Credibly abused multiple young boys across multiple states, including criminal conviction. He practiced in Rhode Island for years.
Father James Campbell
Assaulted a 15-year-old boy multiple times in 1975–1976 and abused another boy starting at age 16 in 1973, and was convicted in Massachusetts in 2004 against another victim.
Father John Crafton
Abused a young girl for six or seven years beginning around age five in the 1960s at the Columban Seminary in Bristol, involving religious rituals that he filmed.
Brother Vincent Cavanaugh
Abused two brothers (ages 13 and 11) in the summer of 1956 by touching them during swimming outings in Rhode Island.
Father Michael LaMountain
Abused at least 12 boys and young men from the 1970s through the 1990s at locations such as his cottage and church rectory, and pleaded guilty in 1999 to nine felony counts of assault against child victims.
Father Robert Carpentier
Groomed and abused a 13-year-old boy from 1973 to 1974 at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Woonsocket, with additional abuse reported from an earlier assignment.
Father Paul Charland
Abused a 15-year-old student in 1980 or 1981 while serving as a guidance counselor and teacher at St. Raphael Academy, with additional reports of abuse in 1999.
Father William O’Connell
Abused at least 23 boys aged 9–16 from 1950 to 1985 (often providing alcohol and sometimes with other priests), was convicted in 1986 for his abuse.
Father John Petrocelli
Indicted for abusing three minors as assistant pastor at Holy Family Church in Woonsocket between 1981 and 1990.
Reverend James W. Jackson
Pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal child abuse material charges after over 12,000 images and 1,300 videos of child abuse were found on devices at St. Mary Church in Providence.
Kevin Fisette (former deacon)
Charged with abusing a young boy between 1981 and 1982 while serving at Our Lady of Victory Parish and as a hospital chaplain.
Father James Silva
Indicted on 11 counts for assaulting a minor male victim between 1989 and 1990.
Father Edward Kelley
Indicted on three counts of first-degree sexual assault for abuse that occurred in 1983 in North Smithfield.
Father Thomas Dente Kofi Manu
Served summer assignments at St. Mary Church in Bristol and on Prudence Island from around 1980 to 2007, allegedly groped and abused a teenage girl after a tennis lesson in 1980, with abuse continuing for years after.
Monsignor John Allard
Groomed and abused a child in 1981 at Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston, with the abuse found credible, without dismissal by the Vatican.
Father Edmund Fitzgerald
Abused at least eight children from the 1950s to 1980s, primarily at churches in Pawtucket and Warren.
Father Robert McIntyre
Abused at least 11 children at St. Aloysius Home over 23 years, committing unspeakable acts, and forcing children to abuse each other.
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