DeOreo in the filing claims that Dudzinski “[sat] in on [the parishioner’s] therapy sessions” for several months throughout 2021, and that in several cases the vicar general allegedly told both the individual and his therapist that the diocese would reopen the investigation against DeOreo if accusations “of a sexual nature” were leveled against him.
The parishioner subsequently “made false allegations that DeOreo had abused him,” the filing says. The parishioner had claimed the abuse consisted of “verbal communication and innuendo,” including an “off-color” joke the priest reportedly told, as well as an instance where DeOreo allegedly claimed to have felt “tempted” around the accuser. The priest denied both situations ever occurred.
The diocese undertook a new investigation, DeOreo said, but none of its investigators “found the new allegations to be credible,” and they found “no evidence to substantiate the allegations.”
The priest claimed Dudzinski moved to “hide, obfuscate, or destroy the findings” of the diocese’s investigation. DeOreo was subsequently restricted from public ministry and ultimately suspended in March 2022 following further complaints from his accuser’s family.
The diocese days later published a public statement revealing the existence of “allegations of inappropriate conduct with a minor” originally made by the parishioner.
The diocese did not follow proper Church protocol in its handling of the controversy, DeOreo’s filing claims. The diocese further falsely suggested that “substantial evidence pointed toward DeOreo’s misconduct, guilt, and/or culpability,” which the priest called an “untruth.”
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