Father Michael “Mitch” Walters
Archdiocese of Newark
Ordained: 1965
Removed: 2016
Assigned as follows:
- Our Lady Of Sorrows (South Orange, NJ)
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Orange, NJ)
- Holy Spirit/Our Lady Help of Christians (East Orange, NJ)
- St. Matthew (Ridgefield, NJ)
- St. John Nepomucene (Gutttenberg, NJ)
- Sacred Heart (Haworth, NJ)
- Our Lady of All Souls (East Orange, NJ)
- St. Cassian (Upper Montclair, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Michael “Mitch” Walters:
Father Michael “Mitch” Walters was ordained a priest in 1965 and served in the Archdiocese of Newark. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in August 2015, allegations were reported that he abused two minors in the early 1980s while assigned to St. Cassian in Montclair. Father Walters was accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy in 1982 and a 13-year-old girl in 1982 and 1983. One accuser said Walters fondled and kissed him repeatedly as an altar boy; the other claimed Father Walters molested her when she was ages 13-14. Walters denied the accusations.
In October 2015, Father Walters was suspended from ministry.
Another woman publicly accused Father Walters of molesting her twice during the same time period when she was between the ages of 12 and 14 at St. Cassian.
In July 2016, investigators conducted a criminal investigation of allegations that Father Walters sexually abused a boy in the 1990s at St. John Nepomucene in Guttenberg. In August 2016, the accuser filed suit. His attorney said he was representing five other alleged victims of Father Walters. The victim said the alleged abuse occurred between about 1982 and 1994, when his clients were approximately 8-14 years old.
In September 2016, the Archdiocese of Newark received a protective order shielding the personnel files of Father Walters from being disclosed to the public as part of several civil lawsuits filed by alleged victims of clergy abuse. The public would never know what the Archdiocese of Newark knew about Father Walters’ history of abuse.
In October 2017, a judge found probable cause to file criminal charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault against Father Walters.
In January 2019, five cases were settled with the Archdiocese of Newark for a total of $400,000, with a sixth case against him still in court at the time.
In defense of its conduct, the Archdiocese of Newark raised the defense of “contributory negligence,” meaning that the victims contributed to their own abuse and therefore were ultimately at fault for what happened to them.
In February 2019, Father Walters’ name appeared on the Archdiocese of Newark’s list of credibly accused priests, which indicated that he was the subject of “multiple” allegations of sexual abuse. He was permanently removed from the ministry.
It is not clear where Father Walters is currently residing, and the Archdiocese refuses to say. It is likely that he is living in a retirement home for accused priests located near Rutherford.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused in the Archdiocese of Newark, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.