March 4 (UPI) — The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office released its first report Wednesday on decades of sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic Church clergy.
The yearslong investigation by the office identified 75 members of the clergy, including 61 priests and deacons, that it said have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct against a child.
The investigation, which began in July 2019, included interviews with nearly 150 victims. The state police and Attorney General’s Office attempted to contact more than 300 victims. The office also obtained records voluntarily produced by the Diocese of Providence, R.I.
Attorney General Peter Neronha wrote in his foreword that Rhode Island has the largest population of Catholics per capita. More than 39% of Rhode Islanders identify as Catholic.
“Generations of Rhode Island victims, their families, and others who have suffered the impacts of this trauma deserve to know the truth of what occurred,” Neronha wrote.
A majority of victims were males by a ratio of five to one. Abuse was first reported for children most commonly between the ages of 11 and 14 years old. The 1970s were the decade that had the highest number of victims recorded.
The report also details the coverup that the Catholic Church in Rhode Island undertook. It found that the Diocese withheld a majority of complaints of abuse against members of the clergy from law enforcement from the 1950s through the 2000s.
From 1990 through 1999, 65 abuse complaints were received by the Diocese and only five were referred to law enforcement. From 2000 through 2009, 23 of 46 complaints were referred to law enforcement.
Prior to 1990, complaints to the Diocese were less frequent. Of 28 complaints between 1950 and 1989, only one was referred to law enforcement.
The Office of Education and Compliance was formed in 1993 to investigate reports of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy.
From 2020 to 2025, there were 18 complaints and all were referred to law enforcement.
“While the Diocese of Providence has taken important steps to acknowledge and address this tragedy and its failures, many victims and their families have long felt that it has not done enough. They are not wrong.”