Father Donald Bolton
Archdiocese of New York/Redemptorists
Ordained: 1952
Died: 2006
Assignment History:
- 1953-1954: Mount St. Alphonsus (Esopus, NY)
- 1955-1959: Bela Vista (Mato Grosso, Brazil)
- 1960-1962: Campo Grande (Mato Grosso, Brazil)
- 1963-1967: Bela Vista (Mato Grosso, Brazil)
- 1968-1969: Monte Alegre (Parana, Brazil)
- 1970-1971: Rocio (Parana, Brazi)
- 1971-1974: Notre Dame Retreat House (Canandaigua, NY)
- 1975-1984: Gregory Thaumaturgus (North East, PA)
- 1985-1987: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Brooklyn, NY)
- 1988-1990: Holy Family Retreat House (Hampton, VA)
- 1990-2003: Alphonsus Villa-Redemptorist Fathers and Brother (New Smyrna Beach, FL)
- 2004-2006: St John Neumann Residence (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Donald Bolton:
Fr. Donald Bolton was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1952. According to media reports, he was accused of sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl between 1974 and 1984, while serving at St. Gregory Thaumaturgus in North East, Pennsylvania. The girl’s parents reported the abuse to the Redemptorist Fathers, who reportedly promised the parents that Bolton would not be permitted to work with children.
In 1986, the parents learned that he was reassigned to teach at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, New York, so they reported Bolton to the police. In November 1986, he was charged with one count each of indecent assault and corruption of minors. He pleaded guilty and in February 1987, he was sentenced to three years’ probation. He spent those three years at a Hampton VA retreat house. In 1990, Bolton moved to a New Smyrna Beach, FL Redemptorist residence, and then to another in Saratoga Springs, NY, in 2003.
Bolton was named publicly in the 2018 Pennsylvania Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury in the subsections “Diocese of Erie” and “Offenders Identified by the Grand Jury”. His status as a priest, and whether he had access to children from 1987 until his death are unknown.
Bolton died in 2006.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of New York. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest or other Catholic clergy in New York State, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of New York 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 New York and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.