Father Robert Torres
Diocese of Little Rock
Ordained: 1966
Removed and Resigned Ministry: 1994
Laicized: 2015
Assignment History:
- 1966-1967: St. John Seminary (Little Rock, AR)
- 1967-1974: Catholic High School (Little Rock, AR)
- 1971: Our Lady of Good Counsel (Little Rock, AR)
- 1971-1972: St. Mary (North Little Rock, AR)
- 1972-1974: Cathedral of St. Andrew (Little Rock, AR)
- 1974: Immaculate Conception (North Little Rock, AR)
- 1975: Our Lady of Good Counsel (Little Rock, AR)
- 1976-1980: Christ the King (Little Rock, AR)
- 1980-1981: Sick leave
- 1981-1982: Christ the King (Little Rock, AR)
- 1982-1984: St. John, (Malvern, AR); St. Mary (Arkadelphia, AR)
- 1984-1989: St. Mary (North Little Rock, AR)
- 1989: St. Theresa (Little Rock, AR)
- 1992-1994: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Ashdown, AR); Our Lady of Good Hope (Hope, AR)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Robert Torres:
Fr. Robert Torres became an ordained priest in 1966 and worked in various parishes in the Diocese of Little Rock prior to becoming the lead priest at a Malvern parish, and subsequently in Little Rock, Hope and Ashdown. Torres was a longtime chair of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and Director of the Mexican-American Spanish Center. Torres retired in 1995 and was laicized in 2015.
According to media reports, in 2016, Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock announced in a letter that Robert Torres, a former laicized priest, sexually abused at least two children during his time as a priest. Prior to the announcement, the Diocesan Review Board met with one of the victims after receiving a report made to the Arkansas Department of Human Services by a concerned family member. The incidents of abuse involved members of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bishop Taylor said in the letter that Robert Torres admitted to acts of abuse and expressed concern based on Robert Torres' admissions that there may be additional victims "whose names Mr. Torres no longer remembers."
In 2018, Torres was publicly named and included on the Diocese of Little Rock's list of credibly accused clergy for whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been admitted, substantiated, or determined or considered to be credible. It notes five known victims.
Torres was removed from the active ministry in 1994 and laicized in 2015.
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