Father Charles Many
Diocese of Norwich (Society of St. Edmund)
Ordained: 1974
Removed: 1986
Left priesthood: 1994
Laicized: 1995
Assigned as follows:
- 1978-1981: Sacred Heart (Groton, CT)
- 1978-1981: St. Joseph (Noank, CT)
- 1981-1986: St. Lawrence (Essex Junction, VT)
- 1986-1994: Edmundite Generalate (Burlington, VT)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Charles Many:
According to media reports, in 1986, Father Charles Many, an Edmundite priest, was accused of sexual misconduct with a boy in Vermont in 1978, while he was assigned to the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut. He was removed from ministry immediately.
In 1994, another man alleged child sexual abuse by Father Many in Connecticut between 1978 and 1981. In 2001, a federal jury awarded the man an $850,000 verdict against Fr. Many, but the judge soon ordered a new trial on the grounds that she improperly admitted evidence about Many’s sexual abuse of a boy after the plaintiff was abused. Given the emotional and financial toll of a second trial, the man opted not to proceed with it.
In 2015, a man filed a lawsuit alleging that Father Many sexually abused him when he was a 14-year-old altar boy in the late 1970s-early 1980s at Sacred Heart in Groton. The priest denied any wrongdoing. According to the Edmundite’s archives, a file showed they knew that Father Many was “receiving boys in his room” as far back as 1976. According to news reports, the Diocese of Burlington and the Edmundite order agreed to a $900,000 settlement.
“He has struggled throughout his life with periods of depression, with a lot of anxiety surrounding things that might seem unusual for a man, like fear of the dark, fear of unknown people, fear of loud noises,” the victim’s attorney said.
Father Many resigned from the priesthood in 1994, and was laicized in July 1995.
In August 2019, Many’s name appeared publicly on the Edmundites’ and the Diocese of Burlington’s lists of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
In Fall 2019, he was named in a lawsuit alleging the sexual abuse of a 7-year-old boy, during confession at Sacred Heart in Groton.
Father Many’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Connecticut, contact our office today. In July 2021, the Norwich Diocese filed for federal bankruptcy protection. The Court will resolve all claims of sexual abuse in this process but strict filing deadlines will apply and no late claims will be considered, so contact us today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Connecticut and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.