Assignment Record– Joseph Gilpin

Summary of Case: A seminarian in the 1960s who was never ordained, Gilpin has been accused of sexually abusing boys in MA and ME during that time, and of having made a sexual advance on a high school boy in 1979. He settled in FL and married. Gilpin was removed from his 34-year career in the Manatee School District in January 2005 when SNAP publicized the allegations, and as more allegations came to light.

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1962

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1964 Cardinal O'Connor Seminary Boston MA seminarian  
1964 1967 St. John's Seminary College Boston MA seminarian Gilpin was "dismissed" from a Boston seminary. (Bradenton Herald
January 28, 2005)
1960s   Camp Miramar

Duxbury

• Gilpin was accused in a 2001 lawsuit of having sexually abused a boy between 1965 and 1968 beginning when the boy was 9-years-old The abuse is said to have occurred at Camp Miramar and at the boy's home, among other places. (Bradenton Herald
January 28, 2005)

MA   This was a seminary and educational facility.

1967

Portland bishop was Daniel Joseph Feeney (1955-1969).

1968 St. Mary's

Biddeford

• Gilpin has been accused of having sexually abused the 12-year-old brother of one of his 5th graders while teaching at St. Mary's. His accuser was an altar boy who describes a grooming period, whereby Gilpin allowed him to drive his car. According to his accuser, Gilpin would give him and other children alcohol, and had him sleep with him in his beachfront cottage. He says he was not the only sexual abuse victim among the children, and that the abuse involved oral and anal sex and occurred "with great frequency". (NewsManatee [Manatee County FL]
August 25, 2005)

ME 5th grade teacher ; seminarian  
1968 1969 University of St. Paul Ottawa Canada theology student GIlpin was also dismissed from this seminary.
1969   Wareham School System Wareham MA summer school teacher and permanent substitute  
1969 1970 University of Oklahoma Norman OK student for one semester  
1970   St. Meinrad School of Theology St. Meinrad IN student for one semeser  
Jan. 1971   Manatee High School Bradenton FL teacher Gilpin became involved in numerous extra-curricular actvities over the years, including leadership in the Florida Foreign Language Association, the Florida Junior Classical League, and student council. He aslo routinely chaperoned overnight trips with students.
    Bayshore High School

Bradenton

• A man reported in Jan. 2005 to the Manatee County Sheriff's office that Gilpin had made an unwanted sexual advance on him in 1979, when the man was a Bay Shore High student. The incident is said to have occurred during an overnight school trip to Orlando. (Bradenton Herald
February 24, 2005)

 

• In 1996 Gilpin was reprimanded by the principal of this high school for patting the front of a female students pants, reaching his hand into her pocket, and for putting two of his fingers into the pocket of another girl's pants. (Herald Tribune
January 28, 2005)

• In 2000 a parent reported to the county sherrif's office that Gilpin patted her daughter's butt with a book.

FL teacher and administrator  
    Braden River High School Bradenton FL teacher and administrator  
    Johnson Middle School Bradenton FL teacher and administrator  
  Jan. 2005 Haile Middle School

Manatee

• In Nov. 2004 Gilpin was investigated by the sherrif's office after two boys complained that he made indecent remarks toward them at a middle school dance and later in the school cafeteria, and another boy said he patted his bottom. (Herald Tribune
January 29, 2005)

FL teacher, assistant principal  



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Gilpin's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on November 30, 2010.