Father Joseph P. Rice – Archdiocese of Newark

Assignment Record:

DatesAssignment
1977 Ordained in the Archdiocese of Newark
1978 – 1987 St. John the Apostle Church, Linden, NJ
1988 St. Michael’s Medical Center (chaplain), Newark, NJ
1989 – 1990 Not indexed
1991 – 1994 Holy Name Hospital (chaplain), Teaneck, NJ
1995 – 2002 Bergen Pines County Hospital (chaplain), Paramus, NJ
Source:
  • The Official Catholic Directory, Kenedy & Sons

(The years listed above are the publication years of the Official Catholic Directory. According to the Directory, the assignments provided for a given year are effective as of January 1 of that year. This means that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year at a parish or school was likely at the same assignment for at least part of the previous year as well.)

Father Rice is not indexed after 2002.
 
Summary:
  • Father Joseph P. Rice was accused of sexually abusing a male minor child over 100 times from approximately 1978 to 1985 when the boy was approximately 12 to 18 years old. During the period of sexual abuse, Father Rice was assigned to St. John the Apostle Church in Linden, New Jersey, and the boy served as an altar boy atthe church.
  • Much of the sexual abuse of the boy by Father Rice took place in the rectory affiliated with St. John the Apostle Church. The sexual abuse included the following: Father Rice masturbated the boy and forced the boy to masturbate Father Rice. Father Rice performed oral sex on the boy and forced the boy to perform oral sex on Father Rice. Father Rice repeatedly sodomized the boy and forced the boy to sodomize Father Rice.
  • The claim settled in 2020 in the low six figures.