Father Joseph Rice
Archdiocese of Newark
Ordained: 1977
Removed: 2002
Died: 2014
Assigned as follows:
- Bergen Regional Medical Center (Paramus, NJ)
- St. Michael Medical Center (Newark, NJ)
- St. John the Apostle (Linden, NJ)
- St. Mary (Jersey City, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Joseph Rice:
was ordained a priest in 1977 and served in the Archdiocese of Newark. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in the spring of 2002, an adult woman claimed she was assaulted in the early 1980s by Father Rice and two other priests, who at the time were active in Union County’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). She said she was assaulted by Father Rice after seeking solace about her dying mother at St. John in Linden when she was about age 14.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office declared the allegations credible but said it could not bring charges because it was beyond the time allowed under the statute of limitations. Union County Prosecutor Thomas Manahan said Rice had been accused of assaulting other children, including a teenage boy.
The Archdiocese of Newark’s internal review board found the allegations credible. In June 2002, the Archdiocese of Newark removed Father Rice from ministry.
In October 2004, The Archdiocese of Newark paid out $1.07 million to settle claims by ten people who alleged they were sexually abused as children by nine Catholic priests, including Rice.
Rice lived for several years at St. John Vianney Residence for Retired Priests in Rutherford, NJ until his death in January 2014.
In February 2019, Rice’s name appeared on the Archdiocese of Newark’s list of credibly accused priests, which indicated that he is the subject of “multiple” credible allegations of abuse.
According to a list maintained by Bishop Accountability.org, Father 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. At the time of the alleged abuse Father Rice was assigned to St. John the Apostle Church in Linden, New Jersey, and the boy served as an altar boy at the church.
Much of the abuse occurred in the rectory affiliated with St. John the Apostle Church. Father Rice reportedly masturbated the boy and forced the boy to masturbate Father Rice. He performed oral sex on the boy and forced the boy to perform oral sex on Father Rice. He repeatedly sodomized the boy and forced the boy to sodomize Father Rice.
The claim settled in 2020.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused in the Archdiocese of Newark, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark now have legal options, 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 New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.