Father Donald Crosby
Diocese of Syracuse
Ordained: 1963
Laicized: 1980
Died: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1963 – 1969 St Mary (Cleveland, NY)
- 1963 – 1969 St Matthew (East Syracuse, NY)
- 1969 – 1975 Utica Catholic Academy (Utica, NY)
- 1970 St. Thomas (New Hartford, NY)
- 1971-1974 Faculty House (Utica, NY)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Donald Crosby:
According to media reports, Father Donald Crosby was accused of sexually abusing a 15-yr-old female student in 1974 while he served as a priest at Utica Catholic Academy. The alleged victim said she reported the abuse to the principal and to Monsignor H. Charles Sewall , but Msgr. Sewall took no action on her report. At the end of the school year, Crosby was reassigned and named the Diocese of Syracuse’s Director of Religious Instruction for grammar schools.
The alleged victim said her mother informed the Diocese of Syracuse of the allegations during the 1990s, as well, and said Msgr. Sewall knew about the incidents. Diocesan officials said they had no record of either complaint.
In May 2002, after seeing media accounts in which Msgr. Sewall admitted he sexually abused a male student in the 1970s, she contacted the Diocese of Syracuse and the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office to report her allegations against Crosby and her conversation with Msgr. Sewall.
In 1975, Crosby voluntarily left the priesthood and became a guidance counselor at Soule Road Middle School in Liverpool. He was not laicized (removed from the priesthood by the Vatican) until 1980.
After about 25 years of being a counselor, Crosby retired in June 2003, shortly after the school learned of the allegations from the DA’s office and threatened to fire him.
Crosby died in January 2004.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Syracuse in New York. The Diocese of Syracuse filed for federal bankruptcy protection in June 2020. Anyone sexually abused by a priest or employee of the Diocese of Syracuse may be entitled to file a claim against the Diocese in these bankruptcy proceedings, but very strict filing deadlines apply. Most victims of abuse in the Diocese of Syracuse will never be able to take any legal action if they miss this bankruptcy filing deadline, so it is important that you contact us immediately to discuss your potential case. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New York and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.