Brother John H. Dagwell
Diocese of Venice/Newark/Xaverian
Joined: 1962
Left order: 2002
Assignment History:
- 1968: Xaverian Brothers HS (Westwood MA)
- 1968-1988: St. Joseph Regional HS (Montvale NJ)
- 1989-1998: In residence (Milton, MA)
- 1998-2002: Manatee Community College (Venice, FL)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Brother John H. Dagwell:
According to documents released by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2003, Brother John H. Dagwell pled guilty to molesting a minor child, who was his student, while working in Newark in 1988. The victim was a 15-year-old boy. During the course of the investigation, other students said they were also inappropriately touched by Dagwell.
He admitted in a plea bargain to touching one student's genitals through their clothing in 1986.
Dagwell's religious order transferred him to Milton, MA after the guilty plea. According to news reports, Dagwell applied for a job as a director at a local Boston homeless shelter and lied about his reason for leaving St. Joseph's High School. He was later forced to resign two years after getting the job due to inappropriate sexual advances toward a shelter resident.
Even after the incident in the shelter, the Xaverian brothers wrote Dagwell an outstanding letter of recommendation and he was given a new job at Crossroads Shelter. Two months later, they found out about his past and asked him to leave. Dagwell relocated to Florida's West Coast and taught at Manatee Community College in Venice.
In 2002, John Dagwell's personnel file was among the records of nearly a dozen accused priests released by the Archdiocese of Boston. Shortly after, Dagwell left the Xaverians, citing "personal reasons." Notably, Dagwell does not appear on the Archdiocese of Newark's February 2019 list of credibly accused priests.
Dagwell is believed to be deceased, according to a March 2020 obituary.
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