Father John Henry Derricks
Diocese of Paterson
Ordained: 1941
Removed: 2004
Died: 2010
Assigned As Follows:
- St. Joseph (Paterson, NJ)
- Holy Spirit (Pequannock, NJ)
- Assumption (Morristown, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father John Henry Derricks:
In 1993, an adult female went to the Diocese of Paterson accusing Fr. John Henry Derricks (a.k.a Dericks) of fondling her as a teenage girl, decades earlier in the early 1960s, at his home in Andover, Massachusetts. At the time of the alleged abuse, Derricks served as Pastor at Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock, New Jersey from 1954 to 1966. She was a student at DePaul Diocesan High School in Wayne. According to media reports, Derricks later gave her $25,000, out of his own pocket, to settle those claims, but he did not admit that he was guilty of the charges.
In 2002, Derricks was placed on administrative leave. In 2003, the Diocese of Paterson found the charges credible, and in a letter dated Aug. 1, 2003, Bp. Frank Rodimer requested a trial in Rome for Derricks. The Vatican said Derricks, then in his late eighties, was too old for a church trial. In January 2004 Derricks was barred from publicly working as a priest.
Derricks died in 2010.
Derricks’ name appears on the Diocese of Paterson’s February 2019 list of credibly accused priests. According to Bishop Seratelli, the Diocese of Paterson, “has found that each of these persons [on the list] has been credibly accused of illegal sexual abuse involving minors. In the cases of several of the 28 individuals, they were also convicted of a criminal offense. As to others on the list, the Diocese of Paterson received information concerning possible misconduct by the individual, investigated the matter for corroborating evidence, and determined that the report was credible. Accordingly, while those individuals may deny having engaged in illegal behavior involving a minor and they are entitled to be presumed innocent in a criminal court of law, the Diocese has determined that the information it received was credible and it has thus included their names on this disclosure.”
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Paterson. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Paterson, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Paterson now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.