Key Takeaways
- Father John Powers, also known by his religious name John Aquinas Powers, was publicly identified in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report on Child Sex Abuse in the Diocese of Providence.
- According to the Report, Powers sexually abused two boys in the early 1960s while assigned to St. Pius V Church in Providence, and the Dominican Order that supervised him privately settled with one victim years before the Diocese was ever told.
- Powers is named on the credibly accused lists of five separate institutions, the Diocese of Providence, the Dominican Order’s Province of St. Joseph, and the Dioceses of Fall River, Massachusetts, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio.
Who Was Father John Powers?
Father John Powers was a priest of the Dominican Order, a religious community distinct from the Diocese of Providence’s own diocesan clergy, who spent only a few years assigned in Rhode Island before moving on to assignments in Louisiana.
Powers is identified on the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report and is included on the Diocese of Providence’s List of Credibly Accused Clergy, under the heading for religious order priests rather than diocesan clergy, since the Dominican Order, not the Diocese, held direct authority over his assignments and discipline. According to the Report, both known victims were boys abused during his single Rhode Island assignment at St. Pius V Church in Providence in the early 1960s. (Appendix A, p. 289)
Father John Powers Partial Assignment History
According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report, Powers served at:
- 1960–1965: St. Pius V Church, Providence
- After 1965: Chaplain and counsel for the elderly, Archdiocese of New Orleans, Southern Dominican Province
The Allegations Against Father John Powers
Powers’s file shows a pattern common to religious order priests: because the Dominican Order, not the Diocese, controlled his assignments, complaints against him were handled privately by the Order for years before Diocesan officials ever learned of them.
- Early 1960s: The first known victim disclosed abuse by Powers to the Dominican Order sometime in the mid-1980s, but the matter was kept confidential until a family member separately told a priest at St. Pius V. An attorney for the Order did not notify the Diocese of the allegation until July 1995, roughly a decade after the Order first learned of it. The Diocese’s own records contain no details of the abuse itself and no explanation for the years-long delay in disclosure.
- 1962 or 1963: A second boy, 14 or 15 years old, said Powers lured him into a room at St. Pius V under the pretext of rearranging chairs, then fondled him once there were no chairs to move. This complainant reported the abuse directly to the Diocese in June 2008, after first telling the parish’s pastor.
When the Diocese finally opened a formal case file on the first complainant in August 1995, its own paperwork was addressed to Diocesan officials, including a bishop and doctor, who were not affiliated with the Diocese of Providence at the time the case was supposedly opened, a discrepancy that raised questions about whether the file was created and backdated later.
There is no record the Diocese ever contacted the complainant or Powers about the allegation in 1995. It took the 2008 complaint, involving a second victim, to prompt any real action: the Diocese confirmed Powers’s assignment history, notified the Dominican Order’s Provincial, and updated its own Bishop and Review Board within days.
Dominican Order representatives also told the Diocese in 2008 that the Order was aware of at least two additional sexual assault allegations against Powers, though there is no indication those occurred in Rhode Island.
Father John Powers’s Criminal Proceedings
Powers was never criminally charged. By the time the Diocese referred the 2008 complaint to Rhode Island State Police, the underlying conduct fell outside the applicable statute of limitations, and no investigation went forward.
Civil Litigation Against Father John Powers
The Dominican Order privately settled with the first complainant sometime in the mid-1990s, on undisclosed terms, years before the Diocese was told the matter had ever occurred. The Order reached a second, similarly confidential settlement with the 2008 complainant that August, which included a release and indemnification agreement.
Because Powers was a member of a religious order rather than Diocesan clergy, financial responsibility for these settlements rested primarily with the Dominican Province rather than the Diocese of Providence directly. Rhode Island’s expanded statute of limitations may still allow additional survivors to pursue civil claims.
Support for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse
If you or someone you love was sexually abused by Father John Powers, Andreozzi + Foote is here to help.
Recent changes to Rhode Island law have created an opportunity for survivors to pursue civil claims that may have previously been barred by the statute of limitations.
At Andreozzi + Foote, we represent survivors of clergy sexual abuse across the nation. Our team takes a trauma-informed approach to every case, ensuring survivors are heard, supported, and empowered throughout the legal process.
If you were abused by Father Powers or another religious leader, we encourage you to contact us today to learn about your legal options.
Every consultation is free and completely confidential.
