Rev. Dennis Pecore- Assignment Record

Rev. Dennis Pecore, s.d.s.

Summary of Case: Pecore was convicted in 1987 of sexually abusing a boy in the mid-1980s at his Milwaukee parish, and sentenced to one year in jail with work-release privileges. He was also put on five years' probation. During his sentence, from 1989-1992, he repeatedly sexually abused his 9-11 year old nephew, for which he was convicted and sentenced in 1994 to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years' probation. He was defrocked in 1995. In 2002 another person came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Pecore in the mid-1970s, when Pecore was a Salvatorian brother prior to becoming a priest. Archbishop Weakland was warned repeatedly in the mid-1980s by three teachers at a parochial school that Pecore was sexually abusing young male students. Pecore was not investigated, and Weakland fired the teachers.

Ordained: 1982

Start	Stop	Parish	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1975 Baltimore archbishop was William Donald Borders (1974-1989)	1976	Holy Trinity	Glen Burnie • In 2002 Pecore was accused of having sexually abused someone in the mid-1970s.	MD		Pecore was a Salvatorian brother.
1976	1982					Pecore went on to become a Salvatorian priest.
1982 Phoenix bishop was Thomas Joseph O'Brien (1981-2003)	1983	St. Mark's	Phoenix	AZ	2/5	Parish had a school with 205 students.
1982	1983	St. Philip the Deacon Catholic Center	Phoenix	AZ		This was a mission of St. Mark's in Phoenix.
1982	1983	Arizona State Hospital, Maricopa County Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Children's Hospital, Hilton Rest Home	Phoenix	AZ		These were stations of St. Mark's in Phoenix.
1983 Milwaukee archbishop was Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B. (1977-2002)	1986	Mother of Good Counsel	Milwaukee • Pecore pleaded guilty in 1987 to sexually assaulting a 14-15 year old boy from 1984-1985. The boy was a student at Mother of Good Counsel school.	WI	4/5, 2/4	Parish had a school with 475-468 students. The boy later said other priests, teachers, and school officials knew Pecore was abusing him. One of the school's teachers wrote a letter to Weakland expressing alarm that the priest was taking young boys to his bedroom, and fear that the boys were being molested. Weakland responded with "any libelous material found in your letter will be scrutinized carefully by our lawyers." Two other teachers also tried to warn Weakland. All three were fired.
1986	1988	Salvatorian Provincial Residence	Milwaukee	WI		Pecore was sentenced in Sept. 1987 to one year in the Milwaukee County House of Corrections, and was given work release privileges. He was also put on five years' probation.
		University of Wisconsin	Milwaukee	WI	student
1988	1991	Jordan House	Milwaukee • Pecore was convicted in 1994 of sexually abusing his nephew repeatedly from 1989-1992, when the boy was nine to eleven years old.	WI	1/4, 1/5 Local Coordinator	This was a care facility for elderly Salvatorian priests and brothers. While living here, Pecore introduced his young nephew to another priest residing there, Simon Palathingal. Palathingal was convicted in 2004 of also molesting the boy.
1991	1996	Salvatorian Provincial Residence	Milwaukee	WI		The 1992, 1993 and 1994 Directories list Pecore's address as 7811 West Center St., Milwaukee, which a 2011 google search shows is near St. Pius X parish and school. He was sentenced in March 1994 to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years' probation. Pecore is not indexed in the Directories after 1996. He was defrocked in 1995.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1983-1996)

• Milwaukee County House, United Press International, September 25, 1987
• Parents Sue Convicted Priest, Wisconsin State Journal, December 17, 1994
• Priest Accused, Wisconsin State Journal, September 11, 1993
• Priest Sentenced, Wisconsin State Journal, March 4, 1994
• Archdiocese's list of clergy accused of child sexual abuse, Baltimore Sun, September 26, 2002
• Priest Faces Four Counts in Sex Assault of Child, By Tom Heinen and John Diedrich, Journal Sentinel Online, June 4, 2004
• Flashback: the Shame of Rembert Weakland, By Charlie Sykes, WTMJ, November 13, 2008

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 Pecore''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 May 13, 2011