Fr. Gavin O'Connor
Ordained: 1977
- 1978-1979: St. Joseph, Shelton, CT (BGP)
- 1980-1981: St. Edward the Confessor, New Fairfield, CT (BGP)
- 1982-1984: In residence, St. Peter, Danbury, CT (BGP)
- 1985-1988: On Duty Outside the Diocese (BGP) – Chaplain, U.S. Penitentiary, Marion, IL 62959 (BEL)
- 1988: St. Joseph, Cobden, IL (BEL)
- 1989: On Duty Outside the Diocese (BGP) – P.O. Box 845, Safford, AZ 85548
- 1990-2019: Unknown
Fr. Gavin O’Connor was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bridgeport in 1977. Fr. O’Connor was also assigned to work in Illinois and Arizona. In January 1989, Bishop Egan, of the Bridgeport diocese, suspended Fr. O’Connor and persuaded him to leave the priesthood after substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse were made against him. Fr. O’Connor allegedly sexually abused three boys from the same family from approximately 1977 to 1985. It is believed that Fr. O’Connor was laicized in 1989 after Bishop Egan personally delivered Fr. O’Connor’s laicization petition to Rome. It was alleged that Bishop Egan paid Fr. O’Connor to cover personal debts and living expenses when he left the priesthood in exchange for his silence. Fr. O’Connor has been accused by at least three survivors of child sexual abuse and named in at least two civil lawsuits. Both lawsuits later were settled out of court. It is believed Fr. O’Connor went on to co-own a real estate office in San Diego, California. Fr. O’Connor’s current whereabouts and whether he has access to children are unknown.