PROVIDENCE, R.I., July 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five former altar boys, represented by Grant & Eisenhofer and partner state counsel, yesterday filed a Complaint against the Diocese of Providence (DOP) and the Church of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, Pawtucket, to hold them accountable for the childhood sexual abuse allegedly inflicted by the late Fr. Armand Ventre, the notorious serial predator-priest whose despicable and destructive acts were documented in the state Attorney General’s investigation into decades-long, systemic Catholic clergy child sexual abuse. The filing in state Superior Court follows the first federal action brought by the legal team under the new state law allowing survivors – who to protect their privacy are entitled to anonymity - to hold accountable their abusers, and enablers, regardless of when the abuse occurred. They presently represent more than 70 survivors-plaintiffs seeking justice in State and Federal courts.
Fr. Ventre at his lake cottage (1990s, Law Firm provided photo) and at his 1986 arraignment (Providence-Journal via AP)
In the new state Superior Court filing (J. Does 1-5 v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence, et al., Bristol County, Case No. PC-2026-04200), the plaintiffs, all residents of Rhode Island, and former altar boys at Saint Teresa’s, where Ventre had served for several years – starting in the 1970s - it is asserted that, “Like countless innocent Rhode Island children, Plaintiffs trusted Defendants to protect, nurture, and guide them, and Defendants violated that trust in a manner that robbed Plaintiffs of their childhood and left them with a lifetime of struggle.” Asserting numerous claims including negligence, negligent supervision and hiring, and premises liability – and seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages - the lawsuit also alleges the Church and its Pawtucket parish “created and facilitated an environment in which the abuser could manipulate, groom, and abuse Plaintiffs under the guise of religious and educational instruction. Because Plaintiffs were minors, Plaintiffs did not, and could not, consent to the abuse each Plaintiff suffered. Moreover, the abuser inflicted his abuse through coercion, intimidation, undue influence, and/or the threat of physical and emotional harm.”
“Ventre’s conduct, documented in the AG’s report and in chilling detail in this lawsuit, shocks the conscience on every level,” said G&E legal team members Steve Kelly, and Firm Advocate Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine Priest, and canon lawyer, along with Louise G. Herman, of the Herman Law Group, East Providence, serving as partner co-counsel. They said the record shows he was accused of sexually abusing at least six boys and one mentally disabled adult across four decades of active ministry. And when the Church, specifically Bishop Louis Gelineau, was confronted with credible accusations of his sexual misconduct, Ventre was repeatedly relocated out-of-state for “treatment”, to the equivalent of halfway houses for “predator priests”, only to be reinstated in the Diocese to again groom and prey upon innocent, children. They further allege his targets were largely from low-income, Prospect Heights homes where he was viewed as a righteous man of God. In one such instance highlighted in the AG’s Report, Gelineau had Ventre admitted to St. Luke Institute, Silver Spring, Maryland, for “rehabilitation,” but allowed him to remain as chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Providence, where he, again, continued to engage in child sexual abuse.
The complaint alleges Ventre groomed his victims over years on parish property and at his Washington Lake, Providence County, cottage, that he dubbed “Virgin Wood.” There, it is alleged, he repeatedly would forcibly molest the boys in his bed and give them ritual “sacred baths” in a large basin.
In 1985, Ventre was indicted for sexually molesting two altar boys and one mentally handicapped youth between 1981 and 1984. In 1986, the charges concerning the altar boys were dismissed and Ventre was found not guilty of abuse of the third child in a non-jury trial. In June 1987, Ventre returned to Providence where he was assigned chaplain duties at two hospitals. The same year, he was again accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled patient. Despite repeated complaints lodged by survivors and their families against him, and internal recognition by DOP personnel of the threat Ventre posed to minors, he remained in ministry until 1999. He died later that year.
In more than six months of pre-suit investigation, the Firm has also developed a Rhode Island Clergy Abuse Lookup Tool to help survivors identify “credibly accused” clergy members and institutions referenced in the state's investigative findings. It also staffs a toll-free survivors hotline at 1-855-374-0256, where survivors can connect with the legal team that is specially trained in a trauma-informed approach to handling such matters.
Contacts:
Steven J. Kelly / skelly@gelaw.com / 443-791-1886
Patrick J. Wall / pwall@gelaw.com / 302-333-6849
Steph Rosenfeld / steph@idadvisors.com / 215-514-4101
A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/6b803198-55dd-42a2-ba16-0886f045e523
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/092db87c-c25f-4fa5-9036-4b8121539cc6
