Father Duane “Jerry” Repola
Diocese of Pueblo
Ordained: 1964
Died: 1971
Assigned as follows:
- Camp St. Malo (prior to ordination)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Junta, CO)
- Immaculate Heart of Mary (Grand Junction, CO)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Duane Repola:
Father Duane Repola was ordained a priest in 1964, 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. Duane “Jerry” Repola was one of the newly identified priests who served in the Diocese of Pueblo.
Among the allegations documented in the files of the Diocese of Pueblo was one against a priest, Fr. Duane Repola. According to the report, Fr. Duane Repola was the subject of a report that he was sexually abusing a 14- to 15-year-old boy at the Immaculate Heart of Mary rectory in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1967.
Repola approached the teenage boy while he was at work and asked if he wanted help to “transition from boy to man”. Fr. Duane Repola got permission from the boy’s parents and then Repola took him to Immaculate Heart of Mary rectory in Grand Junction where he sexually abused him.
According to the report, although there were no prior reports of sexual abuse against Fr. Duane Repola, it is quite apparent that Repola was involved in sexually abusing multiple victims based on how often he was assigned to a new parish. In addition, there was no explanation as to why Repola was removed from ministry.
When the report was received through the IRRP in 2019, the Diocese of Pueblo reported the abuse to law enforcement, however, they did not independently investigate the report because Duane Repola was already dead.
Repola died in 1971 at age 33.
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