LI diocese removes pastor amid sex abuse claims

The pastor of a Roman Catholic parishon Long Island was placed on leave amid allegations he sexuallyabused a 10-year-old boy at a different parish more than a decadeago. A spokesman for the Diocese of

News 12 Staff

Jun 7, 2007, 11:37 PM

Updated 6,452 days ago

Share:

The pastor of a Roman Catholic parishon Long Island was placed on leave amid allegations he sexuallyabused a 10-year-old boy at a different parish more than a decadeago. A spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre said it hasreferred the allegations to the Suffolk County district attorney'soffice and will conduct its own investigation. A spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Spota confirmed theprosecutors had received a letter from the diocese about theallegations last week. Pending the investigations, the Reverend Gerald Twomey, pastorof Our Lady of Fatima Church in Manorhaven, is on administrativeleave. In the letter to prosecutors, the diocese's Office for theProtection of Children and Young People said the allegations arefrom 1994 and 1995, when Twomey was a co-pastor of St. Anne Churchin Brentwood. The letter said a boy who was 10 at the time claimed he wassexually abused by the priest. Spota's spokesman, Robert Clifford, said the statute oflimitations for sex abuse was five years at the time, so criminalcharges aren't likely.