Father Edward N. Leroux
Diocese of Albany
Ordained: 1956
Removed: 2002
Assigned as follows:
- 1957: Our Lady of Victory (Troy, NY)
- 1958-1960: St. Mary (Gloversville, NY)
- 1961-1969: St. Ann (Cohoes, NY)
- 1970: St. Madeleine Sophie (Guilderland, NY)
- 1971-1975: Sacred Heart (Cohoes, NY)
- 1977-1995: Sacred Heart (Berlin, NY)
- 1996-2002: St. Joseph (Fort Edward, NY)
- 2002-2005: St. Mary (Glens Falls, NY)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Edward N Leroux:
According to media reports, in 1992, a man came forward to the Diocese of Albany alleging that Father Edward N Leroux molested him as a boy in his early teens. The abuse occurred fifty times over a two-year period in the late 1960s.
The alleged victim was an altar boy, lector, and a member of the CYO at Guilderland’s St. Madeleine Sophie, where Leroux was serving. He was friends with the boy’s parents. He turned to the diocese for help and justice, after Leroux neglected to answer a 1989 letter.
“I have been dutifully working (for years) within the system to ensure that others would not be abused,” he stressed. “But I am reluctantly coming forward to expose what I believe is a still-festering infection in my church…. I believe the community needs to know what is going on with real victims of abuse, not just nameless statistics.”
No action was taken and Leroux was allowed to continue in ministry. Leroux retired in 1996. Bishop Hubbard removed him from remaining active ministry in June 2002. At least three other men claim they were abused by him in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One victim was twelve years old at the time of the abuse and the other two were fourteen when it began.
Two of his alleged victims received an undisclosed monetary compensation from an independent mediation program, in February 2005.
In November 2018, Leroux’s name first appeared publicly on the Diocese of Albany’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
Leroux died in January 2005.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Albany. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Albany, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Albany 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.