The Rev. Richard McCormick was arrested Thursday in New Rochelle and is expected to be arraigned in Massachusetts on allegations he molested a child three decades ago. He is to be arraigned on 5 counts of child rape. McCormick, who is in his 70’s was the former director of the Marian Shrine in Stony Point.
Police allege that the 5 counts took place in Ipswich, MA in 1981 and 1982 when the alleged victim was 11 and 12 years old.
Boston Globe:
McCormick, 71, the former provincial of the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco for the eastern United States and Canada, has already been sued by nine people who alleged he sexually molested them as boys.
According to the Globe, McCormick will be returning to New Rochelle:< blockquote>Attending today’s arraignment was the Reverend Steve Dumais, who is the current vice provincial for the Salesians order in New Rochelle and who told the court he would be McCormick’s “custodian” when he returns to New York.
“Our whole reason is to work with young people, especially the poor. So these charges are very egregious,’’ Dumais said. “The reality of it is that it’s sad, certainly, that one of our own has been arrested and charged with a criminal complaint. We are doing our very best to support the work of the authorities the best we can.’’
The St. Petersburg Times, in 2002, reported on an incident involving McCormick at St. Petersburg Catholic High School:
A priest at St. Petersburg Catholic High School has resigned after a female student complained that he greeted her with a hug and a kiss. The Rev. Richard McCormick, 61, who taught theology and English, was granted a leave of absence while the complaint was investigated. Later, the school and McCormick “mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of the school community that Father McCormick not return,” according to a statement by the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
Road to Recovery Media Alert, after the jump.
ALSO IN THE NEWS: New Rochelle Police Respond to Trespassing Call Against Eyewitness News Reporter; Prominent Priest Portrayed Child Sex Abusers Like Jerry Sandusky As Victims
UPDATE:
Road to Recovery Media Alert
Road to Recovery is the lead advocacy agency in supporting the sexual abuse victims of Father Richard Mc Cormick, SDB, of New Rochelle, New York. We have worked with many of the nearly dozen men who have claimed that Fr. Mc Cormick sexually abused them in locations such as Goshen, New York and Ipswich, MA.
A few years ago, after claims against Fr. Mc Cormick were leveled and victims were promised that he would never be allowed to function as a priest, Fr. Mc Cormick was permitted by his superiors to concelebrate a packed Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with Cardinal Dolan. The occasion was the American tour of the relic of St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Order, of which Mc Cormick is a member and former high-ranking leader. Mc Cormick led the Eastern American Province which is composed of hundreds of priests and brothers who are stationed in dozens of parishes, schools, and missions. Hundreds of thousands of people, including children, flocked to respect and pray before the relic of St. John Bosco during the tour in America.
The arrest of Fr. Richard Mc Cormick yesterday in New Rochelle, NY, and his return to the Ipswich, MA area is a result of the courage of a Mc Cormick victim who reported his abuse to law enforcement and received a fair hearing. Thank you to that victim and the law enforcement officials in Massachusetts who followed the law which led to the arrest.
We call on the Society of Don Bosco, the Salesians as they are known, to reveal the names of all accused Salesian priests and brothers and to issue a blanket appeal to all former Salesian campers, students, and parishioners to come forward and report any sexual abuse by Salesians to law enforcement.
The Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is a Salesian priest, and he should be calling for thorough investigations in each and every country in which Salesian priests and brothers work in order to find and help heal victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Fr. Mc Cormick took a child from the Salesian Preparatory School in Cedar Lake, Indiana, to Rome, Italy, and sexually molested that child in a convent there.
Should any victims out there need our help, we may be reached at 862-368-2800.
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D. – Road to Recovery, Inc. – 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250