Fr. John Joseph McCarthy
Named publicly as accused by the Jesuits Northeast Province on its list 1/15/2019. Allegations of abuse in the 1970s reported in 2005 and 2018. Assigned to Fordham University in the Bronx 1956-1992. Worked at Loyola High School in Baltimore MD 1946-1949. McCarthy died in 1997. Added to Baltimore archdiocese’s list 4/24/2019. Mentioned in the 4/5/2023 MD Attorney General’s Report. Named in a lawsuit in 11/2024 against Fordham University as one of multiple priests at the university who sexually abused children on campus. Three plaintiffs claim abuse by McCarthy, and that he would lure neighborhood children with fun activities and candy. One man said he was abused during sleepovers with McCarthy and other kids. He also reportedly would take several children at a time to a back room, force them to fondle each other and him or pose with each other for nude photos. Some of the abuse also allegedly took place on overnight trips to Peconic Bay. McCarthy’s victims were ages 10-15.
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