OWEGO (NY)
Spectrum Local News
June 10, 2018
By Nicholas Phillips
Members of St. Patrick’s Parish in Owego are reacting to the sexual abuse allegations against a local priest.
Thomas Valenti is one of eight priests accused of sexually abusing children in the Rochester Catholic Diocese. He now serves as a parochial administrator at Blessed Trinity, which includes St. Patrick’s.
Valenti is accused of abusing a 15-year-old from 1975 to 1977. During that time, he was a deacon at St. Mary’s in Ontario, New York.
Some people who spoke with Spectrum News say the lawyer representing the victims in this case, Mitchell Garabedian, is digging up the past.
“I really believe he is just causing this issue. Most of the allegations that they dredged up are priests who have either long left the priesthood or are deceased,” said Susan Peterson, church member.
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