James P. Collins: Diocesan Clergy Accused of Sexual Misconduct With a Minor

James P. Collins

 

 

In October 2002, Fr. James P. Collins of the Diocese of Brooklyn was named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit which included four survivors of child sexual abuse. Fr. Collins allegedly sexually abused the four survivors over a time that spanned from 1970-1984 while he worked at multiple parishes throughout Queens, New York. He was placed on leave in 2002 following the allegations. In October 2003, a second lawsuit alleged that Fr. Collins abused two boys in the early 1970’s and early 1980’s at St. Michael’s in Flushing, New York, and at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills, New York.

Fr. James P. Collins was ordained in 1969. He worked at St. Michael’s Church in Flushing, New York; St. Clare in Rosedale, New York; Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills, New York; and at St. Margaret in Middle Village, New York. Fr. Collins worked as chaplain, athletic director, and softball coach at Bishop Kearny High School in Brooklyn, New York, from 1984 to 2002. Following his suspension, he was found to be volunteering as a bus driver for the women’s softball team at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York.

(Sources: www.bishop-accountability.org)