Fr. Charles G. Coyle
Archdiocese of Baltimore/Shreveport/Jesuits
Ordained: 1965
Died: 2015
Assignment History:
- 1958-1962: Jesuit High School (New Orleans and Shreveport, LA)
- 1964-1965: Mental Health Institute (Woodstock, MD)
- 1965-1967: Woodstock College (Woodstock, MD)
- 1967-1969: Boston College (Newton, MA)
- 1969-1972: Newton South High School (Newton, MA)
- 1969: City of Newton Drug Education (Newton, MA)
- 1969: College of the Sacred Heart (Newton, MA)
- 1977-1978: Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (Houston, TX)
- 1978-1979: Spring Hill College (Mobile, AL)
- 1980-1982: St. Louise De Marillac (Arabi, LA)
- 1982-1983: St. Andrew the Apostle (New Orleans, LA)
- 1983-1985: Louisiana Center of Jesus the Lord (New Orleans, LA)
- 1985-1988: St. Cecilia’s (New Orleans, LA)
- Mid-1980s: Holy Cross High School (New Orleans, LA)
- Mid-1980s: Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)
- 1991-1995: Ignatius House (Atlanta, GA)
- 1995-1998: Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House (Lake Dallas, TX)
- 1998-2002: Pastoral Ministry (New Orleans, LA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Charles G. Coyle
Fr. Charles “Charley” G. Coyle was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1965 and worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Shreveport, and New Orleans. In 2018, Fr. Coyle was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Fr. Coyle.
According to the AG’s report, in 2002, a victim reported to Massachusetts authorities that Coyle sexually abused him and another boy in Newton, Massachusetts, in the 1970s. According to the victim’s lawsuit, Coyle befriended him when Coyle was a guidance counselor at Newton South High School, and the victim was a student. Coyle took the victim to his house and orally raped him. Coyle was living with another boy who later died by suicide. Coyle was working in New Orleans when the accusations were first made public. The Archdiocese of New Orleans immediately placed him on leave.
In August and October 2003, two brothers reported being sexually abused by Fr. Coyle, who was counseling the older brothers. The older brother was sent to Coyle for weekly counseling in 1965 when he was 16 years old. Coyle first abused the victim at a building on the College of Notre Dame campus and later at Coyle’s home in Woodstock, Maryland. Coyle initially fondled the boy’s genitals and later raped him orally and then anally. Coyle was friendly with the victim’s father and would spend nights at their family home.
Several years later, when the older brother was 18, he was returning from a trip and asked Coyle for a ride from the airport. Coyle tried to initiate sex with him, and the victim rejected his advances. Coyle was living in Boston at this time and living with two teenage boys.
Coyle sexually abused the younger brother in the 1960s, from 11 to 13 years old. The initial abuse occurred in the victim’s home. Coyle tried to make the boy touch his penis, and he resisted. Then on two occasions, Coyle got into his bed, fondled him, and orally raped him. Later Coyle drove the younger brother and another boy to a motel in Virginia where he attempted to rape them anally. The younger brother was able to flee the motel room, but Coyle physically detained the other boy in the room. The younger brother was unsure what had happened in the room, but he heard yelling and screaming inside the room.
The archdiocese made the mandated reports to authorities, and Coyle was listed as credibly accused by the Archdioceses of Baltimore and the Jesuit Order in 2018. He was also listed as credibly accused by the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Boston. In December 2018, the Diocese of Shreveport named Fr. Coyle on its credibly accused list under the heading, “Jesuits removed for sexual abuse of minors: priests who served in the Diocese of Shreveport.” The Archdiocese of Atlanta included Fr. Coyle’s name on its list of “religious order priests with credible allegations outside the Archdiocese of Atlanta” in November 2020.
Charles Coyle died in July 2015.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maryland, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.