Priest Accused Of Drugging, Raping Altar Boy In The 1960s In Lawsuit Against NYC Archdiocese

A bombshell lawsuit has been filed in late April against a former Erie County priest and the Archdiocese of New York for the alleged drugging and frequent rape of an altar boy in the 1960s.

The accused, identified as Reverend Leo Mojecki served at St. Sylvester’s R.C. Church in Concord in the 1960s. The lawsuit was filed in April on behalf of the anonymous victim by attorneys for the Herman Law Firm, based in Manhattan.

The Archdiocese of New York and the church at 856 Targee St. are reportedly named as defendants in the case, reported SILive.com.

The lawsuit accuses Father Mojecki of repeatedly sexually assaulting the plaintiff, who has chosen to have his identity withheld, during a 2-year period spanning between 1964 to 1966. The victim was only about nine to 11 years old during the time of the abuse and was attending the fourth to sixth grades at St. Sylvester School.

The lawsuit alleges that Mojecki repeatedly drugged the plaintiff using an unknown sedative and proceeded to rape the underage victim in his sleep. Mojecki allegedly wore his priest garb during these instances of sexual assaults and abuse, with most of the incidents occurring in the parish's rectory.

According to the lawsuit, Mojecki allegedly fondled the plaintiff’s genitals, rubbed his own genitals in front of the plaintiff, kissed the plaintiff, and made him serve mass as an altar boy with only underwear under his acolyte robes.

The lawsuit says that the abuse allegedly occurred in various locations on church property, including the rectory and a room where altar boys changed their clothes, reported BCNN1.

The suit says that Mojecki reportedly groomed the plaintiff in various ways by regularly keeping the plaintiff late at church, offering to drive the plaintiff home, socializing with the plaintiff’s parents, and asking the plaintiff to help him with tasks.

The victim had reported the sexual abuse to his teacher Immaculata but no actions were taken.

The lawsuit also alleges that Reverend Thomas Burke and Monsignor John Lennon, then the parish pastor, knew that the victim spent nights in the rectory with Father Mojecki but continued providing him access and opportunity to commit the sexual assaults against the plaintiff. Monsignor John Lennon died in 1982, Father Burke died in 1984 and Father Mojecki died in 1985.

Father Burke, who held leadership positions at the former Augustinian Academy, was also accused of sexually abusing a student at St. Sylvester’s in the 1960s.

In 2019, Jeff Anderson & Associates filed The Child Victims Act lawsuit in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan on behalf of an anonymous alleged victim identified only as ARK63 DOE.

The Archdiocese of New York, the Augustinian Order, the related entities, the former Augustinian Academy on Grymes Hill, and St. Sylvester’s Parish have been named as defendants in the lawsuits regarding Father Burke.