Fr. Austin Peter Keegan: Credibly Accused Of Sexual Abuse Of A Minor

Fr. Austin Peter Keegan

Ordained: 1962
Assignments:
  • 1963-1967: St. Cecilia’s, San Francisco, CA
  • 1968-1969: Epiphany, San Francisco, CA
  • 1970-1973: St. Vincent De Paul, San Francisco, CA
  • 1973-1975: Mary’s Help Hospital, Daly City, CA
  • 1976: Unassigned
  • 1977-1979: On duty outside the Archdiocese (Diocese of Santa Rosa)
  • 1980-1981: On duty outside diocese (Cathedral of St. Eugene’s, Santa Rosa, CA)
  • 1982-2018: Unknown

Fr. Austin Peter Keegan has been accused of sexually abusing at least 80 children and has been named in at least one civil lawsuit. The abuse allegedly started in the 1960s and continued for a 28-year period while he worked for the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Diocese of Santa Rosa. In 1982, Fr. Keegan was stripped of his priestly duties from the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Fr. Keegan reportedly fled Mexico, where he was working at a children’s orphanage in 1994. In 2002, Fr. Keegan was indicted on 40 counts of child sexual abuse which caused him to flee back to Mexico from California. Fr. Keegan was arrested in 2003 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and was taken back to the United States. However, Fr. Keegan was shortly released from custody and the charges against him were dropped due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that changed the law surrounding statutes of limitation. In 1994, Fr. Keegan was reported to be an inactive priest with the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Fr. Keegan’s status as a priest, current whereabouts, and whether he has access to children are unknown.