Father Rafael Jairo Calle
Ordained: 1946
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Rafael Jairo Calle:
Father Rafael Jairo Calle was ordained a priest in 1946 in the Archdiocese of Denver. According to media reports, in October 2019, the Colorado Attorney General's office released the report of a special investigation into Colorado's three Catholic dioceses and their handling of child sexual abuse allegations. For the first time, Fr. Rafael Jairo Calle was publicly identified as a priest with multiple documented allegations of sexual abuse.
According to the documents in Calle's personnel file, the priest sexually abused Victim #1 in March 1997 while assigned to St. Stephen in Glenwood Springs. The victim said that Calle "attempted to fondle" the 12 year old boy in a swimming pool. It was immediately reported to the Archdiocese of Denver. Calle, originally from Ecuador, had been assigned in the Archdiocese of Denver for about two months at the time of the incident.
When confronted, Calle "did not deny abusing Victim #1; instead, he immediately fled Colorado." The Archdiocese of Denver immediately suspended his temporary faculties. However, the incident was never reported to law enforcement.
That same month, a second boy reported that he was propositioned by Calle while the two were riding in a car. The boy was 17 years old. No additional details were provided about the context of the abuse, only that it occurred around the same time as the incident with Victim #1.
Calle's current location and status are unknown.
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.