Father Peter Charland
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Ordained: 1972
Resigned: 1975
Died: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1973-1975: Sts. Peter and James (St. James, NY)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Peter Charland:
According to media reports, in February 2018, Father Peter Charland was accused of sexually abusing at least eight children at Sts. Phillips and James in the early 1970s. All survivors were members of the parish’s popular “PJ Folk Singers” that Father Charland led. They filed claims with the Diocese of Rockville’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program. One survivor said the abuse started when he was 11, and occurred in the rectory, Father Charland’s car, and on a choir trip to Romania.
“I certainly thought I was unique. I certainly thought it was wrong, but I didn’t, for whatever reason, think it was appropriate to stand up. That’s something I regret,” he said.
In 1975, Father Charland left the ministry. He married a woman with three sons, and in 1978, he became licensed as a Certified Social Worker in New York State. He later went on to become a private practice therapist focusing on children with attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities until his death in 2004. He died in 2004.
In August 2019, Father Charland was accused in a lawsuit filed under the NY Child Victims Act, of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy who attended Sts. Philip and James from 1972 through 1976.
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.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.