Key Takeaways
- Father Hugh Rafferty 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, a woman told the diocese in 1995 that Rafferty molested and raped her in the rectory bedroom of St. Matthew Church when she was about 13 years old, but the diocese never referred the allegation to law enforcement until she reported it again in 2016, 15 years after Rafferty’s death.
- Rafferty’s brief, troubled priesthood ended in voluntary laicization in 1976, described in internal Church correspondence as driven by a recurring pattern that “always arose” everywhere he was transferred.
Who Was Father Hugh Rafferty?
Father Hugh Rafferty was ordained for the Diocese of Providence in 1964 and spent just over a decade in active ministry before seeking laicization in 1976, citing an inability to keep his vow of celibacy.
Rafferty is identified on the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report and included on the Diocese of Providence’s List of Credibly Accused Clergy. He is also named on the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s own list of accused clergy, tied to his 1969–1971 assignment there, though the details of that allegation, including the victim’s age or gender and where the abuse occurred, are not publicly known even to that diocese.
According to the report, the sole known Rhode Island victim was a 13-year-old girl at St. Matthew Church in Cranston, where Rafferty served for the first two years of his priesthood. (Appendix A, p. 292)
Father Hugh Rafferty Partial Assignment History
According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report and Bishop Accountability, Rafferty served at the following:
- 1964–1966: St. Matthew Church, Cranston
- 1966–1967: St. Leo the Great Church, Pawtucket
- 1967–1974: Assignments outside Rhode Island, including the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Boston, Norwich, Paterson, and Worcester, and a parish in Ireland, including St. Aidan Church in Williston Park, New York, within the Diocese of Rockville Centre
- 1976: Laicized
The Allegations Against Father Hugh Rafferty
Rafferty’s file centers on one Rhode Island victim, but internal Diocesan correspondence surrounding his 1976 laicization describes a broader, recurring pattern that followed him from parish to parish.
- Mid-1960s: A woman said Rafferty molested and raped her in his bedroom at the St. Matthew rectory in Cranston when she was approximately 13 years old.
- 1976: Bishop Daniel Reilly of Norwich, a former Chancellor of the Providence Diocese who briefly supervised Rafferty, wrote to Bishop Louis Gelineau describing a “deep-seated psychological problem” that had surfaced roughly a year into Rafferty’s ministry. Reilly recounted that after Rafferty was transferred once for harassing a woman, “within a few months the same problem surfaced,” and that the pattern followed him through assignments in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Ireland: “the same problem, with its ensuing scandal, always arose.” Rafferty received about a month of treatment in 1967 at a Church-run facility in Minnesota, but the pattern reportedly recurred within weeks of his next assignment.
- 1995: The pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Warwick forwarded the Rhode Island victim’s written report of the Cranston abuse to Diocesan Director Robert McCarthy. McCarthy notified Bishop Gelineau but does not appear to have contacted Rafferty or law enforcement. An internal case list from that November states the complainant chose not to pursue the matter further “after being advised of Rafferty’s current status.” Rafferty died six years later, in 2001.
- 2016: The same woman reported her abuse to the Diocese a second time, this time to McCarthy’s successor, Kevin O’Brien. Reviewing the original 1995 file, O’Brien found it “did not contain any information regarding a disposition or results,” and the complainant told him she had never once been contacted about the status of her original report. The Diocesan Review Board reviewed the case that November, though no record survives of its conclusion. O’Brien referred the allegation to Rhode Island State Police on November 30, 2016, 21 years after the diocese first learned of it.
- 2024: State Police attempted to recontact the woman to confirm her account for the Attorney General’s records but were unable to reach her.
Father Hugh Rafferty’s Criminal Proceedings
Rafferty was never criminally charged. The Diocese did not refer the allegation against him to law enforcement until 2016, by which time Rafferty had been dead for 15 years, and no prosecution was possible.
Civil Litigation Against Father Hugh Rafferty
Public records reviewed for this profile do not show a civil lawsuit filed against Rafferty in Rhode Island. Rhode Island’s expanded statute of limitations may still allow the option to pursue civil claims against the Diocese of Providence.
Support for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse
If you or someone you love was sexually abused by Father Hugh Rafferty, 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 Rafferty or another religious leader, we encourage you to contact us today to learn about your legal options.
Every consultation is free and completely confidential.
