Despite facing allegations of sexual abuse going as far back as the 1980s, Monsignor Paddack remains pastor of Notre Dame Church, a Catholic church in Manhattan.

Monsignor John Paddack already was facing seven sexual abuse lawsuit filed by now-adults who say the Morningside Heights, N.Y. priest abused them when they were children. By the end of July, four more lawsuits were filed.

Even though 11 pending suits shadow the monsignor, the Archdiocese of New York led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan continues to allow Paddack to retain his title even though he reportedly is no longer publicly performing as a priest in the church, according to website The City.

Reports indicate the first time a complaint accusing Paddack of child sexual abuse was filed in 2012.

Allegations Against Monsignor Paddack

Of the four new lawsuits filed against Paddack, the oldest allegation goes back to 1987 when the plaintiff was 11 years old. That abuse purportedly continued until the child was 14 and took lace while Paddack was with the Incarnation School in New York.

Another accuser also said Paddack sexually abused him while at Incarnation and at Cardinal Hayes High School, which is located in the Bronx. The man alleges he was aged 13 to 16 years when the abuse took place from 1990 to 1993.

Just a couple of years later, another plaintiff alleges he was a victim of Paddack at Incarnation School. The former juvenile alleges he was abused when he was 13 and 14 years old around the years 1995 to 1997.

Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island was the place another man said Paddack abused boys. The  plaintiff said he was around 14 to 15 years old during 2002 to 2003, during which time he alleges the assaults occurred.

Two Accusers Speak Publicly

Rafael Mendoza and Joe Caramanno are two survivors who allege they were abused by Monsignor Paddack, according to website Patch.com, which interviewed Mendoza.

“He took advantage of me when I was at my weakest point,” Mendoza said, adding, “I believe he should be removed. I don’t know if he is still [abusing] anyone else or any kids out there.”

In March 2019, Mendoza publicly accused Paddack of molesting him, starting when he was a freshman at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 1996. Mendoza, then 14 years old, told Patch that he was abusing drugs and felt suicidal, which was why he sought counseling. Paddack was the school counselor at the time.

Mendoza alleges Paddack used a stethoscope to fondle him, during which time Paddack’s face would become “bloodshot red.” Mendoza says he also recalls the priest rubbing the then-boy’s crotch with Paddack’s knee. The counseling sessions became increasingly abusive over time, Mendoza remembers.

Joe Caramanno, now 34 and a teacher himself, has filed two lawsuits that name the Archdiocese of New York as a defendant and point to Monsignor Paddack as the alleged perpetrator. Caramanno’s alma mater, St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School on Staten Island, is a named defendant in one of the lawsuits.

Court documents indicate Paddack allegedly committed abuse in the form of “unpermitted sexual contact” and accuse the Archdiocese of being “negligent” when Paddack was allowed “in positions where he had access to and worked with children.”

Caramanno alleges Paddack had a private office at St. Joseph by-the-Sea where he sexually assaulted him from 2001 to 2002 during the school day. Caramanno looks back and realizes he was vulnerable because close family members had recently died at the time, and like most New Yorkers, he was dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. He said he was 16 years old at the time.

He said he blocked out the abuse for more than 15 years, and the memories came back to him when he started talking about the topic of repressed memories to a class of students in 2017. Caramanno remembered going to Paddack’s office for counseling and medication that was kept in a drawer there. When he would go to the office for his medicine, he said the monsignor would inappropriately touch him.

Caramanno told SILive.com that he thought, “There’s nothing that I can do about it now. I’ll just forget it.”

When the young man read about other victims coming forward with similar accusations against Paddack, Caramanno decided to take legal action.

The Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal is just one of many child abuse tragedies that has sparked new legislation in the U.S. that allows now-adults to hold perpetrators and institutions responsible for horrendous acts committed years earlier.

New York’s Child Victims Act went into effect in August 2019 and provides a look-back window of one year to allow victims of child abuse to file lawsuits that were previously barred due to old statutes of limitation. New York legislators passed an extension of that window to expand for another year due to COVID-19 slow-downs in the court system, but the governor has yet to sign that provision.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.