Diocese of Tulsa OK - BishopAccountability.org

10 Accused in This Diocese

Fr. Harry Bartnik

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Ordained: 1956
Status: Accused

Named publicly as credibly accused by the diocese on its list 10/2/19. Trappist brother in KY prior to priesthood. Per his obituary, assigned to parishes in OK City, Prague, Henryetta, Tulsa and McAlester. Hospital chaplain 1966-67. Chaplain at Franciscan Villa in Broken Arrow 1991-96. Died 12/25/2000.

Sources:

Diocese of Tulsa List 10.02.19
Findagrave accessed 12.20.19

Fr. Edmund F. Byrne

Ordained: 1938
Status: Accused

Died: 05/29/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Named publicly as credibly accused by the Tulsa diocese on its list 10/2/2019. Died 5/29/1991. Added to the Scranton diocese's list in 10/2020, where he had four parish assignments prior to being incardinated in 1971 into the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Assignments:

Diocese of Scranton Assignment Record

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Fr. Lawrence Courtright

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Ordained: 1961
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Named publicly as credibly accused by the diocese on its list 10/2/19. Permanently removed from active ministry 7/4/02.

Sources:

Diocese of Tulsa List 10.02.19

Fr. Timothy J. Daley

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Ordained: 1987
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Named publicly as credibly accused by the diocese on its list 10/2/19. Premanently removed from active ministry 4/28/99. Laicized 2/17/04. Died 8/2/04.

Sources:

Diocese of Tulsa List 10.02.19

Fr. Paul Eichhoff

Ordained: 1970
Status: Sued

Died: 06/3/2022
Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Suspended in 8/2002 after a man alleged that Eichhoff sexually abused him and another boy when they were third- or fourth-graders at a parish school in the late 1970s. Eichhoff filed a slander suit against the man and his father. They countersued. Eichhoff was cleared by the diocese's review board in late 2002 and returned to ministry. In 10/2004 a jury found that Eichhoff did not abuse the plaintiff; it also found he was not slandered by either the plaintiff or plaintiff's father. In 7/2006 they sued the bishop, alleging a conspiracy to invade the plaintiff's privacy and prevent him from pursuing his earlier suit. Dismissed by court, upheld by OK Court of Appeals in 1/2014. In 8/2010 another man came forward with allegations that, when he was age 9 in the late 1970s, he and two other boys were sexually abused by Eichhoff, including the man who came forward in 2002. The review board deemed his allegations unsubstantiated. In 11/2020 Eichhoff was pastor emeritus in residence at Christ the King parish. He died 6/3/2022.

Sources:

Fr. John Jangam

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Ordained: 1980
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Visiting priest from India beginning 1997. IN 1999 a 13-year-old girl told her parents that Jangam had hugged and kissed her while they were watching TV in the rectory. The parents told church officials. The Diocese sent Jangam back to India but did not report abuse to the police since they considered it a matter of "inappropriate behavior." The Diocese told parishioners that Jangam returned to India to care for an ailing parent; some parishioners donated money for the trip. In 2002 the girl said the behavior included fondling her breasts and touching her genitalia and that it occurred on multiple occasions, including during confession. Jangam later wrote to Tulsa parishioners asking for money for an orphanage he was running in India and stating that he was still a priest. Included on the Tulsa diocese's list of credibly accused 10/2/2019.

Sources:

Fr. Kenneth Lewis

Ordained: 1991
Status: Guilty plea

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Accused in 2002 of abusing several boys in the mid-1990s. Had been sent to St. Luke Institute in MD for treatment in 1994, then reassigned by Bishop Slattery. Up to six alleged victims had come forward; not removed until 2002. No charges due to the statute of limitations. In 2004, parents of a boy filed a police report in Tulsa alleging Lewis had molested their son at age 13 in 2001 during a trip to Chicago. Tulsa police referred case to Evanston IL police. Parents filed suit in 2007; settled in 2011. Laicization announced in 7/2007. Named in a second suit in 11/2009. Lewis had a Colorado address, but was in Ecuador beginning 7/2017. Detained by Homeland Security in Atlanta 5/9/2018. Taken to Chicago 5/18/2018; charged in Evanston with felony predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, related to the alleged abuse there of the Tulsa boy in 2001. Included on the diocese's list 10/2/2019. Pleaded guilty. Sentenced in a plea deal in 6/2023 to seven years in prison.

Fr. Vincent C. McGouldrick

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Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Named publicly as credibly accused by the diocese on its list 10/2/19. Per his obituary, ordained in Philadelphia, where he had been a seminarian. Also studied at Maryknoll Seminary in NY, and St. Thomas Seminary in Denver. In OK, worked in parishes and taught at Bethlehem Catholic High School. Died in Chaing Mai, Thailand, where he was doing missionary work, 1/19/94.

Sources:

The Morning Call 01.22.94
Diocese of Tulsa List 10.02.19

Fr. Joe C. Townsend

Ordained: 1988
Status: Cleared

Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Placed on leave in 7/19 by the diocese, due to a "non-frivolous allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor." Townsend denied the allegation. The abuse allegedly occurred sometime during his assignment at St. Pius X in Tulsa 6/88-6/91. After an internal investigation, the diocese announced on 12/3/19 that the allegation was determined to be "unsubstantiated" and Townsend was free to return to public ministry.

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Deacon Morris Dale Vanderford

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Ordained: 1977
Status: Convicted

Died: 07/4/1998
Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa OK

Permanent deacon. Removed from active ministry 1/21/1992. Convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing two boys in 1989. Sentenced to 60 years in prison. Died in prison 7/4/1998. Two civil suits filed. One settled in 1993 for $750K and the other in 1995 for $44K. Included on the diocese's list 10/2/2019.

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Our Database of Publicly Accused does not state or imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in the database are merely allegations. 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.