Brother Shawn McEnanyFinal Vows: 1983
Convicted: 1988
Retired: 2014
Died: 2017
Assigned as follows:
- Mount Saint Charles Academy (Woonsocket, RI)
- St. Dominic High School (Lewiston, ME)
- Bishop Guertin High School (Nashua, NH)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Shawn McEnany:
Shawn McEnany professed his final vows as a Brother of the Sacred Heart in 1983. He served in multiple dioceses including in the Diocese of Portland. According to media reports, in 1987, Br. McEnany, a teacher at St. Dominic High School, was indicted on one charge of gross sexual assault and three charges of unlawful sexual contact with a 15-year-old female student. Br. McEnany plead guilty to two of the unlawful sexual contact charges, and the other two charges were dropped. He received two one-year suspended sentences and one year probation.
Br. Shawn McEnany was hired in 1990 to work as a teacher at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, NH. In 1997, he was charged with teaching as a convicted sex offender and failing to register as a sex offender. His lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges in 1998. The Maine Supreme Court denied the appeal in February of 1999. In June 1999, prosecutors dropped the charges against McEnany citing inconsistencies in state law.
In 2018, a graduate of Bishop Guertin High School sued the school for failing to protect her from a known predator. The alleged victim claims that Br. McEnany assaulted her multiple times during the fall semester of her senior year in 1995. During one incident that occurred in a classroom at the school, the victim claims that McEnany forced himself on her and masturbated on her. The lawsuit was set for jury selection in April of 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19.
Br. Shawn McEnany retired from active ministry in 2014. He moved to Harrisville, Rhode Island where he worked as a clinical social worker until his death in 2017.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Portland in Maine. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maine, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Portland now have legal options, but filing deadlines may apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Maine and nationwide. We can help.
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