Father Adrian Poletti

Archdiocese of Baltimore / Passionist

 

Ordained: 1934

Died: 1980

Assignment History:

• 1937-1942: St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish (Baltimore, MD)
• 1942-1945: United States Air Force
• 1952-1959: St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish (Baltimore, MD)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Adrian Poletti:

Fr. Adrian Poletti was a member of the Passionist Order and worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 2019, Fr. Poletti was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In 2019.  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 Father Adrian Poletti.

According to the Attorney General’s report, a man reported in 2006 having been sexually abused by Fr. Poletti at Camp Gabriel in 1956, when the victim was approximately 11 years old. Fr. Poletti drove the victim and a group of boys to Camp Gabriel, near the St. Joseph Monastery in Irvington. Fr. Poletti directed the victim to sit next to him in the front seat, where Fr. Poletti pretended to search for his keys and then sexually assaulted the victim. While on the trip, the victim informed Fr. Poletti that he could not swim, and Fr. Poletti then directed the victim to join him in a rowboat. Once in the middle of the lake, Fr. Poletti instructed the victim to jump in the water with him, and when the victim joined him, Fr. Poletti sexually abused the victim in the water. The Archdiocese entered a settlement with the victim with contributions from the Passionists.

According to the report, in 2007, a woman reported having been repeatedly sexually abused by Fr. Poletti in approximately 1945, when she was approximately 14 years old. Fr. Poletti was a close family friend of the victim. Fr. Poletti would take the victim to a camp nearby, driving her in his car, where he repeatedly sexually abused her.

Fr. Poletti died in 1980.

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.