Father Charles Brown
Archdiocese of Denver
Ordained: 1946
Died: 1994
Assigned as follows:
- 1959-1960: St. Joseph’s (Fort Collins, CO)
- 1961-1967: Newman Club Chaplain, Colorado A and M (Colorado Springs, CO
- 1961-1970: St. Joseph’s (Fort Collins, CO
- 1971-1977: Unknown
- 1978: On Duty Outside the Diocese
- 1979-1987: Sangre de Cristo (Albuquerque, NM
- 1988-2002: Immaculate Heart of Mary (Los Alamos, NM
- 2003-2019: Retired
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Charles Brown:
Father Charles Brown was ordained a priest in 1946, and served in multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Denver. According to media reports, in October 2019, the Colorado Attorney General released the report of a special investigation into Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses, and identified all priests with documented reports of sexual abuse in their personnel file.
For the first time, Fr. Charles Brown was publicly identified as a priest accused of sexual abuse. According to the Report, Brown was the subject of one report documented by the Archdiocese of Denver in 2005.
According to the allegation, Brown sexually abused a 13 year old altar boy while he was assigned to St. Joseph in Fort Collins, Colorado. The victim said the abused lasted approximately four years, from approximately 1962 to 1966.
At the time the Archdiocese received the report, Brown was a retired priest assigned in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe (New Mexico). Seven weeks after the report was received, the Archdiocese of Denver relayed the report of abuse to Santa Fe, who interviewed Brown in the Denver Archbishop’s stead. Brown “convincingly” denied the abuse and remained in active (albeit retired) ministry despite the bishops’ 2002 promise of “zero tolerance.”
The allegation was reported to the Fort Collins police department in 2012, seven years after it was first received, and after the victim had passed away. What finally prompted the long-overdue report is not clear from the AG’s report.
Brown is believed to be alive and residing in the Santa Fe area. The Archdiocese of Denver has refused to provide any information to the victim’s family or the public about Brown’s current status as a retired priest.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Colorado, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Colorado and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.