Rockville Centre Diocese IDs Dozens Of Sex Abusers: Court Filing

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — More than 100 priests or deacons from the region's Rockville Centre Diocese were named as accused of sexual abuse. Attorney Jeff Anderson, representing victims, said the accusers were part of a recently released list in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Anderson's firm also alerted residents that an additional 46 names were on the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditor's list as "people who have served within the territorial limits of the Diocese of Rockville Centre” and were “accused of committing sexual abuse."

Additionally, the list includes names that "a religious order and/or diocese outside the Diocese of Rockville Centre found sexual abuse accusations against these people to be credible or lawsuits have been filed against the alleged perpetrator."

However, Sean Dolan, Rockville Centre Diocese spokesman, took a more diplomatic tack in a statement to Patch.

"The inclusion of any name does not represent an admission of guilt on the part of the accused," Dolan said

Survivors of childhood sex abuse have until Aug. 14 to file a claim under state law.

"We will continue to pray that the entirety of our efforts throughout the Debtor's Independent Reconciliation and Compensation and Chapter 11 processes will offer some measure of healing and reconciliation to the survivors of clergy sexual abuse," Dolan added.