VENICE (FL)
WBBH - NBC 2 [Fort Myers FL]
April 27, 2024
By Samantha Serbin
A Florida man stepped out in faith Friday, publicly sharing his history of sexual abuse.
A 32-year-old, only being identified as John Doe, spoke with his attorney, Damian Mallard, in Sarasota.Advertisement
Doe said that as a child, he attended St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Port Charlotte. There, he claims he was physically and sexually abused by a teacher. In a civil lawsuit filed in 2020, Doe claims he went to the Rev. Leo Patrick Riley begging for help.
Rather than reporting the crimes to the proper authorities, Doe said Riley began participating in the abuse as well. Doe said he was threatened in order to stay silent.
“I never told anybody back then. He said that if I told, he would do to my sister what he was doing to me,” Doe said. “I buried these memories very deep, but I couldn’t keep them buried forever. When they started coming back as flashes and nightmares, I knew I needed to do something so that Riley would not hurt anyone else.”
Doe’s public cry for help comes just days after Riley was arrested by Charlotte County deputies for five counts of sexual abuse in Iowa. Dubuque police report four individuals came forward saying Riley sexually abused them as alter boys in the mid-80s.
“He was supposed to be a man of God. He was supposed to teach these kids the teachings of Jesus Christ. He was supposed to show them leadership; he was supposed to show them the way. He did all of the opposite. It’s just that simple,” Mallard said.
The civil lawsuit filed in 2020 states Riley told Doe he was being beaten and raped as purification of his sins.
“It completely broke him as a human. He has been unable to hold employment. He sequesters himself most of the time by himself doing gaming online to have something to do. He is applying for disability,” Mallard said. “Unfortunately, he is one of the folks who repressed these memories until early adulthood, and as they come back, he sought a counselor, and when things really started to come forward, he approached us, and it has completely broken his life.”
Today, Doe chose to come forward hopeful to encourage others.
“I’m standing here now on behalf of myself and anyone else who was a victim of Leo P. Riley,” Doe said. “If you were abused by this man, you were not alone. There is help available to you.”
“It is only through strength and coming forward that you can heal, otherwise you will always have to live with this for the rest of your life. If you come forward, there are people that can help. There are services that can be provided, and you don’t have to live with this as a cloud over your head. It’s a weight you can take off your back,” Mallard said.
The attorney-client duo is asking any other victims in Florida to step forward. They want to pursue legal criminal action in Florida.
Riley was initially accused of sexual abuse back in 2015. However, an investigation conducted could not substantiate the claim. Read more on that at the link below.
More claims came forward in 2023, which is when Riley was removed from service by the Diocese of Venice.
A statement from the Archdiocese of Dubuque can be found here.
As for what it would take to remove Riley, the Diocese of Venice said, “Priests can be removed from active ministry, as Father Riley was in 2015 and again last year, whereby they have no role in ministry. Or, they can be “laicized” which means to be “dismissed from the clerical state” permanently. This is obviously a drastic measure and would require clear and irrefutable proof of wrongdoing.”
Below is a letter from Bishop Dewane regarding Father Leo Riley that was given to parishioners at all San Antonio Parish masses in Port Charlotte:
For survivors, you can find resources and support here.