Father Richard Cochrane
Ordained: 1972
Removed: 1999
Assigned as follows:
- Malvern Preparatory School (Malvern, PA)
- St. Thomas of Villanova Friary (Philadelphia, PA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Richard Cochrane:
Father Richard Cochrane was ordained an Augustinian priest in 1972 and served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was a Bible studies teacher at Malvern Preparatory School for about 25 years. According to media reports, in August 1999, he was arrested for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old male student during a weekend trip to the Poconos in 1991. He allegedly gave the boy alcohol and showed him pornography before the abuse. He denied the allegations.
In July 2003, after pleading no contest to the statutory sexual assault, he was sentenced to 48 months in jail. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia reached a settlement with the victim.
"No pain in this life that you experience will ever compensate me for the mental and physical hell you've put me through..."You are a predator, a child molester," the victim said in a letter read by his mother in court.
According to Monroe County prosecutors and the 2005 Philadelphia Grand Jury, in 1990, a second student at Malvern Prep came forward alleging the same abuse by Father Cochrane when the boy was 15 years old. Charges were not brought in that case because the statute of limitations had run out.
In February 2011, Father Cochrane was named in a new civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a freshman male Malvern Prep student from 1996 through 1997. According to the lawsuit, the boy had been molested by a different priest two years earlier. He sought counselling from Father Cochrane, only to have Cochrane abuse him as well.
Father Cochrane is believed to still be an Augustinian priest, living in Dover, NH.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Pennsylvania, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia may have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so please do not delay in reaching out to us.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.