Father Richard Kurtz
Archdiocese of Denver (Jesuit)
Ordained: 1977
Removed from ministry: 2001
Assigned as follows:
- 1978-1983: University of Detroit Jesuit High School (Detroit, MI)
- 1983-1984: Gesu Catholic School (University Heights, OH)
- 1984-2001: University of Detroit Jesuit High School (Detroit, MI)
- 2005-2007: Jesuit Community at Loyola University (Chicago, IL)
- 2009-2011: Colombiere Center (Clarkston, MI)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Richard Kurtz:
Fr. Richard Kurtz was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1977, who served in the Archdiocese of Denver. According to media reports, in 2011, he was arrested in Chicago for sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy in Douglas County, CO during a trip to the Air Force Academy in 2001. At the time of the alleged abuse Fr. Kurtz was visiting Colorado and was working as a chemistry teacher at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School.
The Society of Jesus Chicago-Detroit Province first learned about the allegation in April of 2001. They immediately removed Kurtz from his teaching position at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and removed him from public ministry. It is unclear why Kurtz’s arrest came 10 years after the Jesuits received the allegation. Fr. Richard Kurtz plead guilty in 2012 and received a 10-year-to-life term of supervised probation in confinement in Missouri.
In 2014, Fr. Richard Kurtz was reportedly charged with production, transport, and possession of child pornography. After Kurtz was arrested in 2011, two Jesuit priests discovered evidence of possible child pornography crimes in Kurtz’s belongings in Chicago and at Kurtz’s former residence in Clarkston, MI. The Jesuits gave the evidence to the FBI. The FBI’s investigation revealed over 2,300 images of child pornography on computers, floppy discs, and printed pictures. Investigators also discovered that Kurtz secretly videotaped University of Detroit Jesuit High School hockey players changing after games during the 1998-1999 season. In 2015, Kurtz was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Fr. Richard Kurtz was publicly named on the 2018 Jesuits Midwest Province list of Jesuits with established allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. The list notes allegations of child sexual abuse in 1970, 1987-1989, and 2001 against Fr. Kurtz. Information about the age/gender of his alleged victim/victims and the nature of the alleged sexual abuse was not provided by the Jesuits.
The Archdiocese of Detroit named Fr. Kurtz on its 2019 list of clergy credibly accused of abuse.
Fr. Richard Kurtz is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Seagoville, TX.
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