Sister Janice Nadeau
Diocese of Rochester
Ordained: n/a
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Sister Janice Nadeau:
In 2018 an allegation was made to the Diocese of Rochester that Sister Janice Nadeau violently sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in 1977, while she was principal of St. Margaret Mary School in Irondequoit.
Nadeau was described by many who knew and worked with her as harsh, stern, aggressive, and heavy-handed and she took it upon herself to single out the victim regarding the length of the victim’s kilt worn as part of the green and yellow school uniform, saying it was too short.
The victim relayed the concern to her mother, who measured the kilt, determined it was an appropriate length and wrote a letter to Nadeau stating so.
When the victim presented the letter to Nadeau in the school cafeteria, the nun read the letter, flew into a rage and hauled the victim’s to the principal’s office by the ear.
Nadeau Commits Violent Assualt on Female Student
Once there, Nadeau slammed the door shut and slapped the victim’s face twice, knocking her first into a wall, then onto the floor. The victim recalled Nadeau straddling her, yelling, ‘You’re a slut,’ and, ‘You’re inviting rape and you’re going to get raped.’”
Then Nadeau reached under the victim’s kilt and penetrated her.
From there, Nadeau picked the victim up by her shirt, tossed her into an empty waiting room where a secretary normally sat and slammed the door shut, where the victim waited for someone to find and help her.
When no one did, she eventually got up and went to the bathroom to clean herself. When she did so, the victim remembers seeing handprints on her face and using the toilet being painful and seeing blood in her urine.
The Diocese of Rochester’s victims’ reconciliation program deemed the allegations “completely credible,” and Nadeau’s accuser was offered a five-figure settlement.
Nadeau retired at some point to Wilton, Connecticut, and, as of March 2019, reportedly has advanced dementia and is living a nursing facility.
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Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Rochester. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in New York, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Rochester now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims, but filing deadlines apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New York and nationwide. We can help.
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