Fr. Eugene Orteneau – Diocese of Norwich

| Aug 13, 2021 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Father Eugene Orteneau

Diocese of Norwich (Jesuits)

Ordained: 1982

Dismissed from Order: 2003

Died: 2009

Assigned as follows:

  • 1985-1989: Xavier Jesuit Community (New York, NY)
  • 1990-1994: Eastern Connecticut State University; St. Thomas Aquinas (Storrs, CT)
  • 1994-2003: Society of Jesus New England Provincial Office (Boston, MA)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Eugene Orteneau:

Fr. Eugene Orteneau was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1982, who served in multiple parishes, including in the Diocese of Norwich. He left active ministry in 1994, and was dismissed from the Jesuit order in 2003. According to media reports, in 2005, Orteneau was accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy years earlier in 1992, while serving at St. Thomas Aquinas in Storrs, Connecticut. The suit was settled in 2007 for $1.2 million.

Orteneau reportedly moved to South Florida to live with the boy he was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of sexually abusing beginning when the boy was 16. He was an 18-year-old college student when Orteneau moved in. Further, Orteneau later attempted suicide and was arrested on a South Florida street. He was sent to the Institute of Learning in Hartford, CT for psychiatric treatment.

In 2019, Orteneau’s name was included on the Diocese of Norwich list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It was also added on the Jesuits Northeast Province list, as well as on the Diocese of Fall River list.

Orteneau died in 2009.

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.