Father Eugene Kelly
Diocese of Richmond
Ordained: Unknown
Left ministry: 1960s
Assigned as follows:
- Old Dominion University (Virginia Beach, VA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Eugene Kelly:
Father Eugene Kelly left the priesthood in the mid 1960s, and married in late the 1960s.
He later went on to become a highly respected George Washington University education professor, and in 1979 became dean of its Graduate School of Education and Human Development. According to media reports, in 1998, he was accused of sexually abusing his two step children from 1972 to 1976. He was a faculty member in the Department of Education at Old Dominion University in Virginia Beach at the time. He pleaded no contest to criminal charges and was sentenced to a 3-year probation and was required to register as a sex offender. His current whereabouts are unknown.
In November 1996, his ex-wife, the mother of Father Kelly’s stepchildren worked with police, and taped a telephone conversation in which he admitted the abuse. A transcript of the taped conversation is part of the court documents. It went into explicit detail about what he did with his stepdaughter.
During the conversation, his ex-wife said that her daughter “was 12 years old when you started seducing her. That’s a pedophile.” “Yeah, well . . .,” Father Kelly replied.
Kelly said he had a “romantic kiss” with her and at least three incidents of intimate sexual contact. He admitted committing three sexual acts with his 14-year-old stepson and while he was asleep in their Virginia Beach home.
“I remember telling my children to beware of the monsters in society,” the victims’ mother said. Then I found out that there had been a monster right here in the house. We were locking a monster up in the house with us every night.”=
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Richmond. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Richmond, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Richmond now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.