SHREWSBURY, Mass. — Three brothers, two of whom attended St. John’s High School in the ‘60s, allege the school “routinely ignored” claims a religion teacher sexually assaulted them, according to a statement by their lawyer on Wednesday.
Mitchell Garabedian says he is representing three brothers who were allegedly sexually abused by Richard Doyle between 1964 and 1968. Doyle worked as a religion teacher at the school from 1962 until his passing in 1976, according to a statement from St. John’s Headmaster Alex Zequeira.
The lawsuit claims two of the brothers, who were students at the school, were abused on numerous occasions in both their family home and Doyle’s car when they were 15 and 16 years old. The third brother did not attend the school but was sexually assaulted by Doyle in the family’s home when he was 9 years old, according to Garabedian.
“All three brothers have tried to obtain a degree of validation from the Xaverian Brothers for more than three years but have been routinely ignored and consequently re-traumatized,” he said in a statement.
School administrators say they are aware of an instance of abuse by Doyle after an alumnus came forward on July 15, 2019.
“At this time, we are not aware of any other allegations against Mr. Doyle,” they wrote in a letter to the St. John’s High School community. “We encourage anyone with further information about Mr. Doyle -- or any instance of sexual misconduct or abuse -- to report it to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office at (508) 755-8601, or to the confidential reporting number for the Diocese of Worcester at (508) 726-2880, and to Headmaster Alex Zequeira if it involves a member of our community.”
St. John’s is a private all-boys high school that is a Xaverian Brothers-founded institution.
“Please know that we prize above all else the trust our community has placed in us to educate and protect our students,” a spokesperson for St. John’s wrote. “We are committed to detecting and preventing any circumstance that could lead to sexual misconduct or abuse of any kind. We comply with all legal reporting requirements, and we will cooperate at all times with legal authorities in connection with investigating such allegations.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW