ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Queens Daily Eagle [Jamaica NY]
November 13, 2024
By Noah Powelson
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 Children which includes a zero tolerance policy that states that any clergy member who is determined to be credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor is permanently removed from ministry.”
The Dioceses also stated Melendez was suspended from his position at St. Francis during the investigation, and is now terminated “effective immediately.”
Melendez was also fired from his position as director of religious education at Our Lady of Grace Church in Howard Beach, which the Diocese said he held since September.
Melendez was also added to the Diocese’s list of Credibly Accused Priests on their website. The list is a collection of allegations against priests where “the Diocesan officials believe that the allegations may be true.”
Melendez was ordained in 1989 and first served at the St. Brigid parish in Bushwick that same year. He then served at various parishes throughout the Queens, including St. Elizabeth in Ozone Park in 1994, St. Michael’s in Flushing in 1998, and Our Lady of Fatima in Jackson Heights in 2001.
Melendez went on temporary personal leave in 2004, which was eventually made permanent in 2008. Officials did not say what year that alleged sexual abuse took place, just that they took place in the 1990s.
Melendez worked as a religious teacher at St. Francis from 2018 through 2024.