DUBUQUE (IA)
Telegraph Herald [Dubuque IA]
October 29, 2024
The Archdiocese of Dubuque has been named a defendant in a trio of civil cases alongside a former area priest previously charged with sexual abuse.
The lawsuits were filed this month in Charlotte County (Fla.) Circuit Court. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is listed as a defendant in all three cases alongside Leo Riley, who served as a priest in the Dubuque area in the ’80s and ’90s.
The civil complaints that spurred the three cases are not yet publicly available, though all three were filed the same day and list John Doe plaintiffs represented by the same attorney.
Riley, 68, of Port Charlotte, Fla., previously was charged in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse stemming from allegations related to his time at a Dubuque parish in the 1980s.
Riley was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in 1982 and served in various archdiocesan parishes before requesting a move to the Diocese of Venice, Fla., in 2002.
Court documents state that four people reported Riley sexually abused them from 1985 to 1986 when he was associate pastor at Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque.
The case was dismissed in July because the statute of limitations had expired. Riley denied the claims and pleaded not guilty prior to the case being dismissed.
No attorney was listed for Riley in online court documents as of Monday related to the Florida cases.
In a statement, Archdiocese of Dubuque officials wrote that they do not have specific details about the court filings and were “not able to comment further because of this potential pending litigation.”
Archdiocese officials encouraged anyone with information related to victims of clergy abuse to contact the archdiocesan victim assistance coordinator at 563-552-0280, the Archdiocese of Dubuque at 800-876-3546 or the Iowa attorney general hotline for survivors of abuse at 855-620-7000.