Brother John D. Walsh (Congregation of the Holy Cross)
Diocese of Rochester
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Brother John D. Walsh:
Brother John D. Walsh, vice principal at the now-closed Cardinal Mooney High School in Greece, was arrested in 1985 and charged with kidnapping two adolescent boys from a downtown Rochester street and offering them money for sex, according to media reports. The boys, 11 and 12 years old, were released unharmed. Walsh pleaded guilty to coercion and unlawful imprisonment and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Walsh was not an ordained priest but a Brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (Moreau Province) and had taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
In August 2019, the statute of limitations was suspended in New York (temporarily), allowing a window of time for anyone sexually abused as a child to file a civil lawsuit against entities responsible for their abuse. Walsh was named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of several victims of child sexual abuse in the Rochester Diocese. That suit alleges that Walsh sexually abused a teenage boy at Cardinal Mooney High School between 1983 and 1985, starting when the victim (a male) was 14.
Walsh was named in a second civil lawsuit filed in early 2020 under the Child Victims Act. The plaintiff, who now resides in California, alleges he was sexually abused by Walsh on at least 40 occasions while Walsh was supposed to be counseling him on becoming a member of the clergy. The victim, who was a student at Cardinal Mooney High School, said the abused lasted from 1966 to 1969.
In 2020, yet another man contacted the religious order to report his own by abuse by Walsh. He reports that Walsh was driving through his west Rochester neighbor and claimed to be lost. Walsh told the boy that he was a priest or a preacher and that he was looking for a local parish where Walsh was supposed to be celebrating mass. Walsh kidnapped the victim, taking him to a motel in Fairport, where Walsh then drugged and raped the boy. The incident occurred in 1983 or 1984 when the boy was about 14 or 15. Walsh was assigned to Cardinal Mooney High School at the time.
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 adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com.