(Rockville Centre, NY) – Through lawsuits filed involving the Diocese of Rockville Centre under the New York Child Victims Act (CVA), eight alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse were identified publicly for the first time:
Fr. Lawrence Ballweg
Fr. Joseph P. Granata
Michael Palagonia (Teacher)
Anthony “Tony” Colangelo (Teacher)
Fr. Martin Curley, S.M.M.
Fr. Robert G. Kenny
Fr. James P. Sheridan
Fr. Fred Voltaggio
Out of the eight alleged perpetrators publicly identified for the first time, three may still be alive and have access to children:
Fr. Robert G. Kenny: Kenny is accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1965 – 1967 at Our Lady of Victory in Floral Park, New York. The abuse occurred when the victim was approximately 8 – 10 years old. Kenny’s current whereabouts and potential access to children is unknown.
Anthony “Tony” Colangelo (teacher): Colangelo is accused of sexually abusing a minor in approximately 1976 – 1980 at St. Patrick’s Church in Smithtown, New York. According to a 2012 St. Patrick Church anniversary flier, Colangelo was a youth minister at St. Patrick Church and “had a hand in developing programs for young people…as a result, the Youth Community experienced explosive growth.” Colangelo’s current whereabouts and potential access to children is unknown.
Michael Palagonia (teacher): Palagonia was a teacher at Holy Family Diocesan High School in Huntington, New York. Palagonia is accused of sexually abusing a minor from approximately 1983 – 1984, when the victim was approximately 16 – 17 years old. Palagonia’s current whereabouts and potential access to children is unknown.
We are currently litigating a claim involving Michael Palagonia. The school has been closed for many years and the diocese is now arguing that it had no reason to know that Mr. Palagonia would ever commit any misconduct against students prior to 1985 or so. We have reason to believe that this is untrue and would like to speak to anybody who was there in those years to get the real story.
If you attended Holy Family Diocesan High School during this time, please contact us with any information you remember about Michael Palagonia or his behavior with students. You can contact us by phone, email, or whatever method of communication you are comfortable with. You can contact us anonymously if you wish. We are simply seeking the truth from the people who were actually there. This type of information is vitally important not only in this case, but to protect kids now and into the future.