Father Jaime Duenas
Archdiocese of New York
Ordained: 1950
Removed: 2011
Died: 2014
Assignment History:
- 1968-1971: Our Lady of the Rosary (New York City, NY)
- 1968-1971: Our Lady Star of the Sea (Governors Island, NY)
- 1971-1974: St. Mary’s (Staten Island, NY)
- 1975-1978: Unknown
- 1978-1981: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Tuxedo, NY)
- 1982-1984: Unknown
- 1984-1985: St. Martin of Tours (Bronx, NY)
- 1985-1991: St. Teresa of Avila (North Tarrytown, NY)
- 1991-2014: Nativity of Our Blessed Lady (Bronx, NY)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Jaime Duenas:
Fr. Duenas was ordained in his native, Colombia. He was assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of New York since the late 1960s.
In 2011, Duenas was arrested at Nativity of Our Blessed Lady in the Bronx, New York, and was charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl who had just started working in the rectory. According to media reports, the girl reported to the police that Duenas sexually abused her over a three-day period during the previous week. Duenas was 87 years old at the time of the abuse, and he blamed the girl for wearing short skirts, stating “she didn’t mind the massage”. He was then suspended from ministry after the report was made.
Duenas pled guilty to the charges but also had the case sealed. The girl filed a civil suit as of June 30, 2014, but Duenas had died earlier that month on June 6, 2014.
Duenas is named on the Archdiocese of New York’s 2019 List of Archdiocesan Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor or the Subject of Eligible IRCP Compensation Claims. No other abuse has been reported yet, but there are many gaps in Duenas’ assignment history.
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