Brother Wellington Stanislaus
Diocese of San Jose (Jesuits)
Joined priesthood: 1965
Dismissed: 1972
Assignment History:
- 1968-1971: Juvenile Hall (San Jose, CA)
- 1970-1971: Novitiate Home for Boys (Los Gatos, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Brother Wellington Stanislaus:
Br. Wellington Stanislaus, also known as “Brother Stan”, entered the Jesuit Order in 1965, who served in the Diocese of San Jose. According to media reports, he was moved from San Jose to Phoenix in 1971 after he was accused of molesting teenage boys at a boys’ home. He was still allowed to work with youth programs in Phoenix while the order was working to have him dismissed.
In 2003, Stanislaus was arrested on two felony accounts of abusing a 16-year-old boy back in 1969 who was a resident of a Los Gatos home for troubled boys. The criminal investigation revealed that church officials first received reports of Stanislaus’ sexual proclivities in the mid-1960s while he was working as a track coach at Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose, California. Despite these reports, church officials allowed Stanislaus to start the residential program for troubled boys in Los Gatos.
Following media reports of the charges, several adult men came forward to report that they, too had been sexually abused by Br. Stanislaus when they were teenagers residing at Novitiate. Some victims described how Stanislaus would arrange to have them transferred from Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall to Novitiate. Once there, the boys were afraid to resist or report the sexual abuse for fear of being sent back to the detention center.
The charges were later dismissed after a ruling by the Supreme Court.
In 2018, Stanislaus was included on the Jesuits West Province list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It noted a 2002 report of child sexual abuse of a minor that took place in 1969-1970. Information about the nature of the alleged sexual abuse is unknown.
Stanislaus was dismissed from the order in 1972. He died in November 2018.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Jose in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of San Jose now have legal options due to a temporary change in the law, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
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