SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATION REGARDING SHANE PATTERSON

Shane Patterson entered formation with the Legionaries of Christ in 1988. He left in 1995 before being ordained to the priesthood. As a seminarian he served his internship as assistant dean of students in Cheshire, Connecticut for Immaculate Conception Apostolic School’s (ICAS) Legionary pre-candidacy program in the mid-1990s.

In late 2018 a person came forward with allegations that he believed in the mid-1990s a fellow former student, who was a pre-candidate at ICAS, had been sexually abused by Shane Patterson.

ICAS had run the pre-candidacy program, for a short time, out of the Legionaries of Christ seminary in Cheshire, Connecticut.

The Legionaries of Christ opened a third-party investigation, through Praesidium, into the allegations and the civil authorities were notified.

Praesidium was unsuccessful at locating Patterson to participate in the investigation.

In December 2020, the Legionaries of Christ retained Sullivan Advisors, another third-party investigation firm, to try and locate Patterson one last time before concluding the findings of the investigation.

Patterson was located and willingly participated in the supplemental investigation by Sullivan Advisors.

Both investigations substantiated the allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor.

In April 2021, the findings of the investigation were presented to the Legionaries of Christ Review Board.

On May 21, 2021 the Territorial Director accepted the findings of both investigative reports.

The Legion has recently apologized directly to the victim and offered support.

We are grateful to the former student who came forward to report this so that this case could be properly dealt with. We encourage anyone who has been abused by a member of the Legionaries of Christ to contact the appropriate authorities, regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred, and to contact the Legionaries of Christ Program Coordinator for Pastoral Care for the United States, Abby Saunders.

If anyone has a question about safe environment policies or a complaint regarding misconduct or sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult by a Legionary, contact Abby Saunders using the information below.

Abby Saunders, Program Coordinator for Pastoral Care
Email: asaunders@arcol.org
Phone: (678) 467-9348