Father Robert Hermley
Archdiocese of Newark / Oblates
Ordained: 1955
Died: 2009
Assigned as follows:
- 1955: De Sales Hall (Washington, DC)
- 1956: St. Francis de Sales (Toledo, OH)
- 1958-1965: Father Judge High School for Boys (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1966: Mission House of the Oblates of St. Francis De Sales (Toledo, OH)
- 1967-1978: Father Judge High School for Boys (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1979-1980: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Seaside Heights, NJ)
- 1981-1982: Padua Academy Residence (Wilmington, DE)
- 1983-1988: Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (Vienna, VA)
- 1989: Unknown
- 1990-1991: Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (Vienna, VA)
- 1992: St. Mary (Fredericksburg, VA)
- 1993-2000: Seton Home Study
- 2001: Little Sisters of the Poor (Newark, NJ)
- 2003-2006: Oblates of St. Francis De Sales Retirement and Retreat Center (Childs, MD)
- 2007-2008: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Robert Hermley:
Father Robert Hermley was a priest of Oblates of St. Francis De Sales religious order and served in the Archdiocese of Newark. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in June 1982, he was convicted in Pennsylvania of indecent assault of two minor boys age 13 and 14 while on assignment at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Delaware. He was arrested for watching pornographic film with the boys in a parked car at a drive-in theater. Nineteen pornographic magazines were confiscated from his car.
He was sentenced to three years probation. Johns Hopkins University physicians examined Father Hermley and determined he did not need help. In December of the same year he was reinstated to ministry in Vienna, Virginia.
In May 1987, a woman reported to the Oblates that Father Hermley sexually abused her son when he was 10 or 11-years old in the early 1980s while serving at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Seaside Heights, in New Jersey. Local authorities were not contacted. The allegation was handled by the Oblates.
In September 2003, Father Hermley was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy while on assignment at Father Judge High School for Boys, in Philadelphia between 1976 and 1980. This time, the DA’s Office and law enforcement were contacted.
Father Hermley retired in 2003. He was named in the extensive Philadelphia Grand Jury report released in 2005. He died in August 2009.
In August 2011, his name was released as part of the Oblates’ settlement of $24.8M reached with 40 plaintiffs.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Newark, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.