UWS Priest Accused Of Sexually Abusing Students, Reports Say

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A priest currently stationed at the Upper West Side's Church of Notre Dame was accused of sexual abuse by former students, according to reports.

Five students at schools where Monsignor John Paddack taught between 1988 and 2002 accused the priest of isolating them from other students and groping them while they were alone, the Daily News first reported. The abuse occured while Paddack taught at the Bronx's Cardinal Hayes High School, State Island's St. Joseph by the Sea High School and Manhattan's Church of the Incarnation, according to the report.

Of the five accusers, only one is making the allegations in public. Rafael Mendoza told the Daily News that Paddack groped him during his Freshman year at Cardinal Hayes High School in 199. Mendoza told the paper that he went to see Paddack, who served as the school's guidance counselor, because he was dealing with issues in his personal life and was suicidal.

The priest denied all allegations in an interview with the Daily News, citing a 50-year record of teaching.

“I think they’ve been seeing the advertisements on television and in the paper and a chance to make money. Very sad, and it could ruin a reputation, which is awful," Paddack told the Daily News.

The newly-passed Child Victims Act provides accusers a one-year period to file lawsuits against abusers that would otherwise be outside the statute of limitations. The bill was passed and signed into law in February and the one-year period begins sixth months after the law takes effect.

The Archdiocese of New York said that the church takes "all allegations of abuse of minors very seriously," and the organization has reached out to the accusers' lawyers to arrange meetings, archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said. The archdiocese encourages accusers to report abuse to the district attorney so they can investigate, and the organization investigates cases where the district attorney does not get involved.

"Before we can take action, we need to hear from the District Attorney their conclusion, or hear directly from the individuals themselves, so that we can commence our process. We hope that the attorney will have his clients be in touch with us so that we might begin our process," Zwilling said in a statement.

Paddack was appointed adminstrator of the Church of Notre Dame — located on West 114th Street and Morningside Drive — in 2011 by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, according to the church's website.

Read the full Daily News article here.