Father Ross A. LaPorta
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Ordained: 1951
Removed: 1999
Died: 2015
Assignment History
- 1951-1963: St. Matthew (Baltimore, MD)
- 1963-1971: St. Charles (Pikesville, MD)
- 1971-1978: St. Bernard (Baltimore, MD)
- 1978-1991: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Woodlawn, MD)
- 1991-1998: St. Mark (Catonsville, MD)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Ross A. LaPorta:
Father Ross A. LaPorta was ordained a Catholic priest and worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland. In 2002, Fr. LaPorta 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 Father Ross LaPorta.
According to the Attorney General’s report, in 1991, Archbishop Keeler received a letter from a father regarding his concerns about Fr. LaPorta’s involvement with his teenage son. The father wrote, “LaPorta has taken it upon himself to take my 14-year-old out on his sailboat with another teenager.” The man tried to call LaPorta personally, but he never responded.
In 1999, a victim reported to the archdiocese that he had been sexually abused by Fr. LaPorta on multiple occasions for almost a decade, from 1960 to 1968. The victim claimed the abuse began when the victim was about seven years old and continued until he was almost 16. The reports stated that the abuse usually, but not only, took place nearly every Friday night and occurred in the victim’s home near St. Matthew, in the rectory of St. Charles, Ocean City, Maryland, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fr. LaPorta would put the victim and his brother to bed. The victim’s brother also indicated that LaPorta had given him chest and back rubs, and he had the impression that LaPorta “wanted to do more.” The brothers believed Fr. LaPorta was known for sexually inappropriate and abusive behavior towards young boys.
When an attorney interviewed LaPorta on behalf of the archdiocese, he admitted to putting the boys to bed frequently and rubbing their backs but denied sexually abusing the brothers or anyone else. Notes documenting the interview of LaPorta stated that LaPorta often had long pauses when answering and, at one point, said, “You got me.”
In 1999, the archdiocese removed LaPorta’s faculties to function as a priest one year after his retirement. In 2001, they were reinstated so that he could celebrate Mass for his 50th seminary reunion.
In 2003, a woman reported to the archdiocese that she had been sexually abused by Fr. LaPorta in 1966 when she was 12 years old. She claimed the abuse took place in the rectory at St. Charles. The victim was in the 6th grade and was asked to answer the telephones in the rectory one afternoon after school by her teacher (a nun). She remembers later being on the bed in the rectory with her underwear down and LaPorta touching her vagina. Her teacher, the nun, stood in the bedroom doorway observing. The victim asked Fr. LaPorta to stop, and he did. She believes he then masturbated, and they left. LaPorta denied this allegation.
In 2013, the archdiocese received another report from a victim claiming sexual abuse by LaPorta in the early 1970s. The victim was training to be an altar boy and was introduced to LaPorta by Fr. Loskarn. The victim claimed that the two priests would “play ‘truth or dare’ with the altar boys and ‘dare’ them to expose their penises,” which the priest would then fondle. LaPorta would also have the victim touch his erect penis. Fr. LaPorta owned a boat in Annapolis, MD, which the victim would help him clean. The third time the victim was on LaPorta’s boat, LaPorta “punished” the victim for bad behavior by raping him. LaPorta subsequently sexually abused the victim on his boat. The abuse consisted of genital fondling and, at least on one occasion, rape. The archdiocese made the mandatory report of this abuse to authorities and in 2014, entered a settlement agreement with the victim.
Fr. LaPorta died in 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 adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.