Father Richard Chung (Benedictine priest)
Diocese of Pueblo
Ordained: 1982
Died: 1992
Assigned as follows:
- 1983-1992: Holy Cross Abbey (Canon City, CO)
- 1985-1988: St. Joseph on the Rio Grande High School (Albuquerque, NM)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Richard Chung:
Fr. Meinrad Richard Chung, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, was ordained a priest of the Order of St. Benedict in 1992, and served in the Diocese of Pueblo. According to media reports, in 1992, the Diocese of Colorado Springs received a report that Fr. Chung sexually abused a male student at St. Mary High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Fr. Chung reportedly worked at St. Mary High School for four years, beginning in 1988.
After being confronted with the allegations, Fr. Chung committed suicide the next day by funneling exhaust fumes into his car in the parking garage of his apartment complex. Following Chung’s death, Colorado Springs police began investigating the abuse allegation, which involved a boy. Police found “probable cause of inappropriate touching” that likely would have resulted in criminal charges.
In 2004, a second survivor filed a civil lawsuit alleging Fr. Chung sexually abused him as a minor at Holy Cross Abbey in Canon City, Colorado, in approximately 1982.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo in Colorado. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Colorado, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo 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 Colorado and nationwide. We can help.
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