A former priest who was working as a religious teacher at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows was recently fired after being accused of sexually abusing minors throughout the 1990s.
The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Friday they investigated three separate allegations recently made known to them against former priest Michael Melendez, and found all to be credible. Melendez was ordained a priest in 1989 and served in numerous parishes and religious institutions across Brooklyn and Queens.
Though he stopped serving as a priest over a decade ago, he continued to work with children in Queens through his work at St. Francis Prep.
“The Diocese takes all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors seriously and has instituted significant programs to prevent sexual abuse and protect children,” a spokesperson for the Diocese of Brooklyn said in a press release. “The Diocese abides by the 2002 Charter for the Protection of…
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