Father Benjamin Wysolmerski
Diocese of Burlington
Ordained: 1950
Removed: 1993
Died: 1994
Assigned as follows:
- 1950-1956 Sacred Heart (Bellows Falls, VT)
- 1958-1962 Christ the King (Burlington, VT)
- 1962-1963 St. Monica (Barre, VT)
- 1963-1966 St. Bernadette (Bridport, VT)
- 1966-1971 Our Lady of the Lake, Central Catholic High School (St. Albans Bay, VT)
- 1971 St. Francis de Sales (Bennington, VT)
- 1971 St. Mary Star of the Sea (Newport, VT)
- 1971-1977 St. Anne (Middletown Springs, VT)
- 1977-1987 St. Alphonsus (Pittsford, VT)
- 1987-1993 St. Charles (Bellows Falls, VT)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Benjamin Wysolmerski:
Father Benjamin Wysolmerski served in Vermont for approximately 43 years. He was transferred to multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, he was accused of raping teen-age girls by two of his victims. He was never charged criminally, and both civil suits against him were settled out of court in 1997.
One woman claimed she was raped as a 12-year-old child by Father Wysolmerski in the early 1960s, and then raped again by him in the late 1970s when she was married. Details of the abuse were not disclosed.
“He did it while he was the teacher at the school teaching us catechism,” the alleged victim said in a 1994 court deposition. “He did it on back roads going to visit people who he was helping in the parish. He did it to me in the attic of my grandmother’s home.”
The woman said she was eventually impregnated by Father Wysolmerski and paid for an abortion, which at the time was illegal.
Another alleged victim claimed that Father Wysolmerski began to force himself on her while she was a 12-year-old student at Christ the King School in Burlington. The abuse continued through her teen years. She said she asked for help from five priests during the period she was abused, but none of them took action. Based on evidence she gathered during the course of her case, she is convinced that Father Wysolmerski had victimized as many as 25 girls.
In June 1993, he resigned from ministry and his public priestly faculties were revoked. He died in October 1994.
In August 2019, his name appeared publicly on the Diocese of Burlington’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Burlington. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Burlington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Burlington 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.