St. Joseph’s named in sex abuse suit
Litigation alleges misconduct by priest who served at church in late 1960s, early ’70s
St. Joseph’s Church in Kingston has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit that alleges sexual abuse by a priest who had served there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, the milestone date when the Child Victims Act went into effect and allowed for the increase on the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits against sexual predators.
The lawsuit was filed in state Supreme Court in New York County by attorneys with the Marsh Law Firm in White Plains.
St. Joseph’s Church is among more than a dozen others named as defendants in the lawsuit, which accuses the former Rev. James LeBar of using “his position as a priest to groom and to sexually abuse plaintiff.”
The accuser is only referred to as A.M.
LeBar, who died on Feb. 28, 2008 at age 71 and had lived in Hyde Park, was listed by the New York Archdiocese as one of the priests having had credible accusations made against him.
“The Independent Reconcili
ation and Compensation Program determined that claims against him were eligible for compensation,” the diocese said in its listing.
LeBar was a graduate of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie. Ordained on June 2, 1962, his first appointment was at St. John the Evangelist, White Plains, and he went on to serve appointments at a number of churches, including St. Joseph’s in Uptown Kingston, between 1967 and 1973. He taught religion at John A. Coleman Catholic High School between 1966 and 1970.
LeBar also had served appointments at St. Catherine Laboure in Lake Katrine, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Poughkeepsie and St. Stanislaus in Pleasant Valley. In addition, he was a priest in residence at Regina Coeli Church in Hyde Park and a chaplain at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center in the town of Poughkeepsie for more than 25 years until his retirement.
He had also been appointed as Chief Exorcist for the Archdiocese and appeared on many television talk shows, including “Geraldo,” EWTN’s “Conversations The World Over With Raymond Arroyo,” ABC’s “20/20,” and the “CBS Early Show.”