Father Joseph Walsh
Ordained: 1935
Died: 1960
Assigned as follows:
- Sacred Heart Orphanage (Sacred Heart Orphanage, Pueblo, CO)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Joseph Walsh:
Father Joseph Walsh was ordained a priest in 1935, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Pueblo. According to media reports, in December 2020, the Attorney General's Office released a supplemental report of the allegations made in the Colorado Dioceses' voluntary compensation fund. According to the report, Fr. Joseph Walsh was one of the newly identified priests who served in the Diocese of Pueblo
Victim #1
According to the report, Fr. Joseph Walsh was the subject of a report that he was sexually abusing an orphan boy when he was 4- to 8-years-old at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado from 1951-1954.
First, Fr. James Walsh enticed the child, taking him to the ice cream parlor. Then, Walsh sexually abused the child on the drives to and from the ice cream trips and then it carried on numerous times in the rectory while he served at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado from 1951-1954.
In 1969 and 1981, Victim #1 reported the sexual abuse to the Diocese of Pueblo, alerting two Bishops. Shockingly, neither Bishops reported the abuse, never took any action against Fr. Joseph Walsh. Rather, they never restricted him from being in close proximity to children and never removed him from ministry.
In fact, in 1981, the Bishop told Victim #1 that nobody would believe him and that he should keep the incident to himself so that doesn't damage the church.
Victim #2
According to the report, Fr. Joseph Walsh repeatedly sexually abused this young female orphan during her entire 6-year tenure at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado.
Walsh sexually abused Victim #2 when she was 7- to 13-years-old at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado from 1951-1957.
Fr. James Walsh enticed her onto his lap with candy to begin sexually abusing her. Victim #2 would try hiding from Fr. Walsh but that never stopped him from sexually abusing her.
When the report was received in 2019, the Diocese of Pueblo reported the abuse to law enforcement, however, they did not independently investigate the report because Joseph Walsh had died before the report was made against him.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo in Colorado. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Colorado, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo 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 Colorado and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.