Father Basil Akut
Archdiocese of New York
Assignment History:
- Our Lady Star of the Sea (Staten Island, NY)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Basil Akut:
In March 2021, Staten Island priest Basil Akut was accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan against New York’s Archdiocese. According to media reports, in 2015, Fr. Basil Akut began weekly counseling to a recently divorced woman when working at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church. The alleged victim also went to weekly confession with Akut and attended all of his masses at Our Lady Star of the Sea on Staten Island, according to the lawsuit. Over four years, Akut showered the woman with compliments, text, and calls and would spend “an inordinate amount of time” with her, the court documents claim.
In January of 2018 things escalated when Akut reportedly confessed he was in love with the woman. Akut told her that he loved her and fantasized about her sexually, the suit alleges. It stated that Akut told the victim he thinks about her naked and wanted to touch and kiss her.
In mid-October 2018, during one of their weekly counseling sessions, Akut forced a kiss on her while pushing her against a counter, the court documents claim. On another occasion, the victim took a sleeping pill to help with her insomnia, and Akut called her to come to the rectory. When she did, Akut groped her, kissed her, and sexually abused her. The lawsuit says Akut held the victim’s hands behind her back and raped her. Since the abuse, the victim suffers from vivid nightmares, guilt, shame, and embarrassment, the suit claims.
In March 2021, the advocacy group, SNAP, called upon the Archbishop of New York to remove Akut from ministry at Our Lady Star of the Sea.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of New York. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest or other Catholic clergy in New York State, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of New York now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New York and nationwide. We can help.
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