Fr. John Herber, C.PP.S.
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father John Herber:
Father John Herber, a member of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood religious order, was first publicly identified in the August 2018 grand jury report. His name was also included on the Diocese of Harrisburg's 2018 list of accused priests, which states that the Diocese of Harrisburg has received multiple allegations that Herber abused children while assigned in the Diocese of Harrisburg.
According to the grand jury report, the Diocese of Harrisburg received multiple allegations of abuse beginning in 1997. The first, brought to its attention by another Harrisburg priest, was made by a male parishioner. Herber had recently celebrated a mass that the man attended at a Lancaster parish. The man was aware of an allegation made against Herber in 1990 and wanted to know why Herber was still celebrating mass.
Several months later, a woman contacted the Diocese of Harrisburg to report that she was molested by Herber at the age of 7, from 1981 to 1982. She told her father about it in 1990, and he immediately told the Most Precious Blood provincial, Herber's immediate supervisor.
All that could be located in the Diocese's file was an attestation by the religious order in 1995 that Herber had no known pattern of sexual abuse. Later, the Order confirmed that it received an allegation of abuse of a young female in 1990, and that Herber underwent inpatient psychological treatment as a result of it. The Order also stated that Herber had aftercare (outpatient treatment) from 1991 to 1993. In 1993, he began attending Alcoholics Anonymous and Sexaholics Anonymous meetings regularly.
Herber remained in ministry until early 1998, when the Order recalled him and assigned him to a monitored living facility.
The woman's sister later contacted the Order directly and reported that she too was sexually abused during the same time period.
In 2012, a third woman contacted the Diocese of Harrisburg to report that she was abused as a child from 1982 to 1983, beginning when she was about 4 years old. Her sister later reported her own abuse by Herber as well.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Harrisburg. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Pennsylvania, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Harrisburg now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com today.