John R. Butler

Ordained: 1957

Father Butler is said to have been ordained in 1957 in Virginia. He was reportedly transferred within and between different dioceses, having served in Brooklyn and New Jersey at one point. In 2002, the Diocese of Metuchen confirmed that Butler was on a leave of absence following allegations that he acted “inappropriately” with a minor in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A man accused Butler of molesting him in the late 1950s or early 1960s while he was a choirboy at St. Joseph’s in Kings Park. The man allegedly told church officials about the abuse shortly after it ended but maintained that Butler was simply moved from one place to another.