Father Damion Lynch
Diocese of Charlotte
Ordained: 1991
Suspended: 1995, 1997
Permanently removed: 1998
Laicized: 2009
Assigned as Follows:
- 1991-1995: Appalachian State University, Campus Minister (Boone, NC)
- 1991-1995: St. Elizabeth Catholic Church (Boone, NC)
- 1991-1995: Epiphany Church (Blowing Rock, NC)
- 1995-1997: Administrative leave
- 1997-1998: Our Lady of Consolation (Charlotte, NC)
- 1998-2002: Absent on Leave
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Damion Lynch:
Father Damion Jacques Lynch was ordained a priest in 1991, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte. According to media reports, in 1995, he self-reported to Bishop William Curlin that he had an “indiscretion” with a St. Elizabeth’s altar boy who was in his early teens. Lynch was then placed on leave in November of 1995, and was sent away for psychological testing and residential treatment. According to reports, Lynch told Curlin that he was close to the boy’s family and sometimes had the child spend the night at the rectory. One night, Lynch says that he looked at the sleeping boy’s body using a flashlight so as not to wake him. The family of the boy, who said that he was fondled on several occasions by Lynch overa 4-year period, received a settlement to drop the matter, releasing the Diocese of Charlotte from any further liability.
Bishop Curlin then assigned Lynch to another Charlotte parish, Our Lady of Consolation, in 1997.
Also in 1997, the parents of the brother of the victim from the first incident filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Charlotte after they discovered that a second son had also been molested by Father Lynch in Boone. They also claimed that the abuse of the two boys was recurring, instead of a one time incident as they previously thought. This second claim was eventually settled in 1999.
Lynch asked for a leave of absence from his ministry in 1997 after the second allegation was made. Curlin reportedly informed Lynch that he was not allowed to work as a priest again. He was laicized in 2009, according to media reports.
On March 5th, 2019, a third man filed a police report alleging that Lynch and another priest, Father Cornell Bradley, each sexually abused him as a teen in North Carolina in the 1990’s. The victim claimed that the abuse he suffered from Lynch was on a trip to Carowinds and near the Catholic Campus Ministry.
Damion Lynch went on to become a registered nurse after he left ministry, and he worked at a major hospital in the Washington D.C. area for some time. His current whereabouts are unknown, but he does still hold an active nursing license in Washington D.C.
Lynch’s name appears on the Diocese of Charlotte’s list of credibly accused priests. After leaving the priesthood, Lynch worked as as a registered nurse and VAD coordinator at at MedStar Washington Hospital Center while living in Alexandria, Virginia.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Charlotte in North Carolina. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in North Carolina, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Charlotte 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 North Carolina and nationwide. We can help.
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