Leonard Riforgiato (Jesuit seminarian-deacon)
Diocese of Rochester
Ordained: Unknown
Died: 1999
Assigned as follows:
- 1964-1966: McQuaid Jesuit, Rochester, NY
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Leonard Riforgiato:
When the Jesuit order released its list of priests accused of abuse, a priest in training, Leonard Riforgiato, was among those listed.
Riforgiato was assigned to McQuaid, a school within the Diocese of Rochester, in the mid-1960s when he engaged in abusive behavior. According to records, the abuse occurred from 1964-1966 and was reported in 1969. When Riforgiato was confronted with the allegations, he admitted them and left the Jesuit order shortly after.
School officials initially said they knew nothing about it.
In fact, McQuaid officials had known all about an allegation that Riforgiato had instructed a student to drop his pants because that claim was among the information that the school gave Brighton police sixteen years ago.
It is unclear how McQuaid’s parent organization could have been aware of these events for fifty years while local school officials were in the dark.
Riforgiato died in 1999.
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].