Father Richard Bowles
Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Ordained: 1961
Removed: 2003
Died: 2013
Assignment History:
- 1961: Holy Spirit Catholic Church (Jacksonville, FL)
- 1965: Assumption Catholic Church (Jacksonville, FL)
- 1967: Bishop Kenny High School (Jacksonville, FL)
- 1969-1972: Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Pensacola, FL)
- 1972: St. Stephen (Pensacola, FL)
- 1972-1975: St. Anne (Pensacola, FL)
- 1976-2013: St. Michael (St. Augustine, FL)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Richard Bowles:
Fr. Richard Bowles was ordained in 1961 and was a priest for 42 years before his resignation. In 1975, he served as a priest of the newly formed Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.
In 2003, Bowles resigned after admitting to molesting a boy 34 years prior. The diocese investigated after someone reported the molestation in August of 2003. Shortly after the abuse in 1969, Bowles underwent a psychiatric evaluation.
A month later, a second man came forward to allege abuse by Bowles when the boy was 15-years-old in 1971. His parents had complained to the diocese the same year. This accuser filed suit in 2005 and settled five months later for $30K.
In 2020, Bowles was included in the Diocese of St. Augustine list of credibly accused clergy. He is also named on the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee 2020 list of priests that have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or minors. Bowles died in 2013.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Florida, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Florida and nationwide. We can help.
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