Investigative Overview

In 2018, a Pennsylvania grand jury report found that more than 300 Catholic priests across six Pennsylvania dioceses sexually abused children over seven decades and were protected by a hierarchy of Church leaders who covered it up.  The investigation—one of the broadest inquiries into child sexual abuse in U.S. history—sent shock waves throughout the country.  Attorneys General from multiple states, including Rhode Island, launched their own investigations into child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. 

In the interest of providing Rhode Islanders with a comprehensive understanding of the extent of this crisis, the Attorney General utilized the resources of this Office to conduct the Investigation and ultimately produce this Report.  To effectuate this, the Attorney General and the Diocese entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) on July 22, 2019. 

This investigation had four main goals:

1. Provide an account of child sexual abuse by clergy

   Over the course of the investigation, members of the Office and the State Police contacted nearly 150 survivors of clergy child sexual abuse, including multiple interviews and other communications, and attempted to contact many more.  

2. Describe institutional responses to clergy abuse in the Diocese of Providence

   The investigation involved an examination of more than 250,000 pages of documents held by the Diocese dating back to 1950 (the “Review Period”), including personnel files, treatment reports, internal investigation records, Diocesan policies and procedures, and other materials. 

3. Identify perpetrators who may still be prosecuted and bring cases where legally feasible

   As a direct result of this investigation, this Office, working with members of the State Police, brought criminal charges against four current and former priests for child sexual abuse they allegedly committed while serving in the Diocese.  

4. Propose reforms and accountability measures that will help prevent these crimes from recurring

   To that end, the Report recommends a number of remedial actions the Diocese should take to address concerns with the Diocese's current policies and practices in areas essential to child protection. The Report also proposes several targeted legislative reforms.

By the Numbers

Major Trends

The clergy sexual abuse crisis impacted nearly every community in Rhode Island.

The Investigation identified over 300 documented victims who reported allegations of child sexual misconduct against 75 clergy members.

To learn more about the scope of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Providence, see Chapter IV.

Historically, the Diocese protected accused priests with transfers, “treatment,” and promises of confidentiality.

For much of the Review Period, the Diocese of Providence’s response was driven, whenever possible, by a single focus: concealment. 

This failure was corrected with the 2016 Letter of Understanding with this Office.

To learn more about the Diocese's historical response to child sexual abuse allegations, see Chapter V and VI.

Historically, the Diocese failed to refer to law enforcement child sexual abuse complaints.

The Diocese’s failure to report suspected abuse hindered criminal investigations and potential prosecutions, and endangered children.

To learn more about the Diocese's historical response to child sexual abuse allegations, see Chapter V and VI.