Father Neil Hewitt
Archdiocese of Denver
Ordained: 1962
Left priesthood: 1980
Laicized: 2018
Assigned as follows:
- St. Anne (Grand Lake, CO)
- St. Anthony (Sterling, CO)
- St. Therese (Aurora, CO)
- Church of the Annunciation (Leadville, CO)
- St. Ignatius (Rangely, CO)
- Chaplain, Stapleton International Airport
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Neil Hewitt:
Father Neil Hewitt was ordained a priest in 1962, and served in multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Denver. According to media reports, up to nine victims of abuse by Father Neil Hewitt have come forward to allege abuse across several different dioceses in Colorado, including the Archdiocese of Denver. In a May 2019 media interview, the Archdiocese of Denver said it has only received two formal reports, both of which allege that Hewitt abused teen boys in the 1960s.
When confronted by one of his alleged victims and a news reporter in May 2019, Hewitt confirmed he remembered the victim and said, “I did do things that were wrong…I realize that.” He also admitted to molesting a second man who took his own life but outlined the details of his abuse in his suicide note. His cousin first reported the abuse to the Archdiocese of Denver in 2002.
In 1979, Hewitt was appointed chaplain at Stapleton International Airport. In reality, he was preparing to leave the priesthood and marry, and the Official Catholic Directory showed him “on leave of absence.” In May 1980, he got married.
Hewitt is now believed to be residing in Tucson, Arizona. He is 83 years old.
In October 2019, the Colorado Attorney General released a detailed report of a special investigation into the handling of sexual abuse allegations by Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses. Not surprisingly, Hewitt was among the priests identified as having multiple documented allegations of sexual abuse in their personnel files. According the Report, Hewitt abused “a minimum of 8 children in 4 different parishes,” beginning in the mid-1960s. “As a serial sexual predator, Hewitt used alcohol and pornography to groom his victims,” targeting “boys in their early teens.” The first documented reported of abuse in the Archdiocese of Denver’s files appears in 1992. When confronted by the AG’s investigators, Hewitt admitted to 7 of the 8 allegations, 4 of which were discovered during the course of the AG’s investigation.
The Report confirms that Hewitt was finally laicized (removed from the priesthood) by the Vatican in 2018.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver 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 Archdiocese of Denver 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.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.