NEW YORK
Gawker
Brendan O’Connor
On Wednesday, the Archdiocese of New York announced, through its official newspaper, that Father Richard Gorman, the archdiocese’s director of prison chaplains, as well as a prominent local political leader, was suspended after being accused of sexually abusing minors 30 years ago.
The archdiocese said that it reported the allegations to law enforcement immediately, and that, while they were determined to be credible, they have not yet been substantiated. As such, Gorman is not permitted to perform the public duties of a priest until the matter is resolved.
Mike Reck, a lawyer for one of the victims, said the alleged abuse took place in the ‘80s, when Gorman was a priest at St. Barnabas’ Church, in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the Bronx. There, Reck said, Gorman “used that position of power to access a child, who was a parishioner. He transported him to another church-owned facility and that’s where that incident of abuse occurred.” According to CBS News, that facility was in Westchester County.
“He decided to come forward now because he was at a stage of his life where he was aware of the trauma and realized the perpetrator could still access children,” Reck said.
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