Father Vance Thorne
Diocese of Little Rock/Society of the Divine Word
Ordained: 1954
Removed: 1987
Dead: 2004
Assignment History:
- 1954: Unknown
- 1955-1957: Holy Ghost (Jackson, MI)
- 1958-1959: St. Leo's (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1960-1961: St. Mary's (Vicksburg, MI)
- 1962-1971: St. John the Baptist (Waco, TX)
- 1972-1980: St. Bartholomew's (Little Rock, AK)
- 1981-1986: Holy Ghost (Jackson, MI)
- 1987: Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, MS)
- 1988: Unknown
- 1989: Divine World Seminary (Bay St. Louis, MS)
- 1990-2004: Society of the Divine World (Bordentown, NJ)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Vance Thorne:
Fr. Vance Thorne was ordained a priest in 1954 and worked at St. Bartholomew in Little Rock, Arkansas, under the Diocese of Little Rock. Thorne also worked in the Diocese of Austin, Texas (1961-1971), Jackson, Mississippi (1980-1987), and Trenton, New Jersey.
According to the LA archdiocesan report in 2004, Fr. Thorne was accused of sexual abuse by one person in the early 1970s. There were at least three civil suits and two criminal indictments filed between 1986-1987 in Mississippi. One plaintiff claimed sexual abuse by Fr. Thorne between 1980-1986, beginning when he was age 14 at Holy Ghost church in Jackson, Mississippi. There was another alleged abuse at the same parish as a 9-year-old boy. It notes alleged abuse in 1986 and that it was reported the same year.
Thorne appears on a list published by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in addition to credible allegations in the Diocese of Jackson. Fr. Vance Zebulon Thorne is included in the Society of the Devine World Chicago Province list of Those Credibly Accused of Sexually Abusing a Minor.
Fr. Thorne died in 2004.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse by Arkansas priests in the Diocese of Little Rock. Our lawyers are now offering free legal consultations to discuss a potential lawsuit and your other options as a survivor of sexual abuse by priests and other employees of the Little Rock Diocese. Your chance to pursue legal action will soon be over. Most victims of abuse will never be able to recover damages if they miss the temporary window to file a lawsuit, so please contact us to discuss your case today. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.