Father John Butler
Ordained: 1957
Removed: 2002
Laicized: Unknown
Assigned as follows:
- 1958 Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Richmond, VA)
- 1959-1960 St. Mary's Star-of-the-Sea (Fort Monroe, VA)
- 1961 Sr. Peter (Richmond, VA)
- 1962-1965 St. Joseph (King's Park, NY)
- 1966 Unknown
- 1967-1968 On Duty Outside of Diocese (Richmond, VA)
- 1969 Assumption (Keyser, VA) Our Lady of the Valley (mission) (Petersburg, VA) Our Lady of Grace (mission), (Grace, VA)
- 1970 St. Paul (Richmond, VA)
- 1971-1974 SS Philip and James (Philipsburg, NJ) New Village (mission) (Philipsburg, NJ)
- 1975 St. Barnabas (Bayville, NJ); Our Lady of Victory (mission) (Bayville, NJ)
- 1976-1978 St. Thomas the Apostle (Old Bridge, NJ)
- 1979 St. Robert Bellarmine (Freehold, NJ)
- 1980-1981 Unknown
- 1982-1984 St. John Vianney (Colonia, NJ)
- 1985-1986 Unknown
- 1987-2002 St. John Vianney (Colonia, NJ)
- 2003-2016 Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father John Butler:
Father John Butler was ordained for the Diocese of Richmond, in Virginia. He also worked in the West Virginia, Rockville Centre, Trenton and Metuchen dioceses. According to media reports, in April 2002, the Diocese of Metuchen removed him from ministry amid allegations that he had "inappropriate conduct with a minor." The alleged abuse occurred while he was assigned to St. Joseph's in Kings Park, New York in the early to mid-1960s.
Father Butler's accuser, a choir and altar boy, alleged that Father Butler and St. Joseph's choirmaster, molested more than a dozen other boys. Additionally, he said he had reported the abuse to the Diocese of Rockville Centre when he was a teen. Nonetheless, no action was taken. Father Butler was sent to another parish in Brooklyn. He was eventually transferred to New Jersey.
Father Butler also allegedly abused at least one minor in Metuchen. The case was resolved in the Metuchen settlement in February 2003. He retired in 2002, and was eventually laicized. He died in September 2016.
In February 2019, his name appeared publicly on the Diocese of Richmond's list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. A few months later in May, he was named in a lawsuit accusing over 300 church leaders of sexual misconduct in New Jersey.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in New York, contact our office today. In October 2020, the Rockville Centre Diocese filed for federal bankruptcy protection. The Court will resolve all claims of sexual abuse in this process but strict filing deadlines will apply and no late claims will be considered, so contact us today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New York and nationwide. We can help.
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