Ordained: 1987
Removed: 1990
Laicized: 1996
Assigned as follows:
- Our Lady of Victory Church (Washington, DC)
- St. Martin Church (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
- Shrine of St. Jude Church (Wheaton, Maryland)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father C. Thomas Chleboski, Jr.:
According to media reports, Father C. Thomas Chleboski, Jr. began abusing boys prior to his ordination in 1987. In 1990, the mother of 13-year-old Arlington boy came forward to the Archdiocese of Washington with alleging Father Chleboski was sexually abusing her son. He denied the allegations. The Archdiocese of Washington immediately placed him on administrative leave and sent him for psychological counseling and treatment at Servants of the Paraclete hospital in New Mexico, a notorious treatment facility for pedophile priests.
In January 1991, Father Chleboski was charged with six counts of sexual misconduct, including fondling, sodomy and aggravated sexual battery of the boy, who was a student at a parochial school affiliated with Our Lady of Victory Church in Northwest Washington. Father Chleboski taught religion, health and sex education classes at the school. He was also in charge of the altar boys at the church.
The incidents allegedly occurred between Sept. 20 and Dec. 4 in 1990, in the student's home. His mother, a single parent, was at work. Police said the priest became familiar with the family, often stopping by the family home, bringing gifts for the boy and taking him on outings. The boy said, "He felt he [Father Chleboski] was doing something wrong but he didn't know how to stop it."
In February 1991, Father Chleboski was arrested in Virginia on a fugitive warrant and turned him over to Montgomery County Police Department investigators in Maryland. In Montgomery County he was held on charges of four counts of child abuse, two counts of third-degree sexual assault, three counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of unnatural and perverted sexual practice. He denied the allegations.
The ten charges involved another 13-year-old boy. The acts allegedly occurred between 1985 and 1988 at three different locations. Two of the locations are St. Jude's Catholic Church in Rockville and St. Martin's Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, where Father Chleboski was assigned. The third location was not disclosed.
In March 1991, Father Chleboski pleaded guilty in Virginia to seven felony charges of sexual assault of the 13-year-old boy. One charge was of solicitation to commit a felony, three charges of sodomy and three charges of "taking indecent liberties," or fondling the boy.
In May 1991, Father Chleboski was sentenced to 22 years in prison and 15 years probation. The judge said Father Chleboski showed "very little feeling or sympathy or compassion for what he did to the victim."
At the sentencing hearing, Father Chleboski testified that he had had a two-year relationship with yet another child shortly after finishing his studies at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania in 1982. The child's mother filed a civil suit.
In August 1991, Father Chleboski pleaded guilty in Rockville, Maryland to three counts of sexually abusing an altar boy, including an incident in the boy's home just after his grandmother died. The victim said he could cite 60 to 65 occasions of abuse. One time, the boy was handcuffed by Chleboski and screamed in pain, according to the Assistant State Attorney.
In October 1991, Father Chleboski was sentenced in Maryland, to eight years in prison, to be served after a 22-year sentence in a Virginia prison, for sexually abusing the teen-aged boy in his care. In November 1991, Father Chleboski was sentenced in Washington, DC on another child abuse charge.
In 1996, Father Chleboski voluntarily laicized.
As of October 2008, Father Chleboski was out of prison on probation and registered as a sex offender. He rejoined the Air Force reserves.
In October 2018, Father Chleboski's name first appeared on the Archdiocese of Washington's list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
According to his sex offender registry, Chleboski now lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Washington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington 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 adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.