Father Foster P. Rogers
Diocese of Rochester
Ordained: 1966
Resigned: 2002
Voluntarily laicized: 2012
Assigned as follows:
- 1967-1969: Christ the King; Rochester, NY
- 1970-1973: St. Patrick’s; Elmira, NY
- 1974-1975: St. John the Evangelist; Rochester, NY
- 1976-1979: Assumption Church; Fairport, NY
- 1979-1998: St. Alphonsus Church; Auburn, NY
- 1999-2002: St. Pius X Church; Rochester, NY
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Foster P. Rogers:
Father Foster P. Rogers was suspended from duties at St. Pius X Church in Chili, New York in 2002 and he resigned from his parish. That year, a man came forward and alleged that Rogers had molested him in 1975 when the man was a 16 year old boy.
When the allegations surfaced, another man also came forward to say that he had complained to the Diocese of Rochester in1993 about earlier abuse by Rogers, but nothing was done about the complaint.
Rogers was voluntarily laicized in 2012, according to a statement from Diocese of Rochester.
On May 10, 2023, a jury awarded a $95 million verdict to a Rochester-area man who alleged in a civil lawsuit filed in 2020 that he was sexually abused as a child by Foster Rogers. The abuse was reported to have occurred in Rogers’ car in July 1979 when the child was 15 years old. At the time of the sexual assault, Rogers was an assistant pastor at St. Alphonsus in Auburn. The victim had no connections with the church. Father Rogers had met the teen in downtown Rochester and offered him a ride home in his car. Rogers did not hire an attorney and did not contest the charges in the lawsuit. The jury awarded $30 million for past pain and suffering, $15 million for future pain and suffering, and $50 million in punitive damages.
In May 2023, a jury awarded a Rochester-area man $95,000,000.00 in a trial against Rogers individually. The man says he was abused by Rogers in 1979 when he was 15.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Rochester. The Diocese of Rochester in New York filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019. Our lawyers are now offering free legal consultations to discuss a potential lawsuit and your other options as a survivor of sexual abuse by priests and other employees of the Rochester Diocese.
Very strict filing deadlines have now been set by the Bankruptcy Court. Most victims of abuse will never be able to recover damages if they miss this deadline, so please contact us to discuss your case today. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to [email protected].