Fr. Gerard C. Smit

Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Lafayette LA

Ordained in the Netherlands. Was working in the Lafayette LA diocese by 1957. Report to police 1982 of abuse of a boy 1965-1970 in Youngsville. Said Smit stalked him. Complaint to the bishop in 1986 of the sexual abuse of girls. Fathered two children in Cankton, LA. Sent to Jemez Springs NM for treatment. Still of the Lake Charles diocese (created from the Lafayette diocese in 1980), sent to the Wilmington DE diocese in 1987. Removed in 1996. Name first released on a list by the Wilmington bishop 11/16/2006. Was teaching at the University of Delaware’s Academy of Lifelong Learning, for adults over 50. The Lafayette bishop removed Smit from public ministry and contact with minors in 2011 and informed DE. Personnel files released in 2/2012. Allegedly abused at least eight in LA. Report to the Diocese in 2010 of abuse of an altar boy in Cankton in the 1970s. Complaint to police 2015 of abuse of an altar boy in 1961 in Youngsville. Sentenced in 2013 to a Life of Prayer and Penance. Living in PA. Died in 2022.

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