Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island is a Catholic institution with a documented connection to clergy sexual abuse. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s comprehensive investigation into the Diocese of Providence named Bishop Hendricken as one of the schools where credibly accused clergy served. If you attended Hendricken and were abused, what happened to you was not your fault. You were a child, and you deserved to be protected. Rhode Island’s new law, signed on June 11, 2026, may give you the legal right to act now, even if you believed your time had passed. As a sexual assault lawyer firm representing survivors across Rhode Island, Sommers Schwartz is here to help you understand your options.

Table of Contents

• What Happened at Bishop Hendricken High School
• Father Joseph Rocha and the Abuse Documented at Hendricken
• How the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report Connected the Diocese to Hendricken
• Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200A/S-2616A) and What It Means for Hendricken Survivors
• Your Legal Rights as a Survivor of Abuse at a Rhode Island Catholic School
• Why Survivors of Institutional Abuse Often Wait to Come Forward
• FAQs About Bishop Hendricken High School Sexual Abuse Claims

What Happened at Bishop Hendricken High School

Bishop Hendricken High School is a private Catholic school located in Warwick, Rhode Island, serving students in grades 8 through 12. For decades, it was regarded as a trusted institution within the Diocese of Providence. That trust, however, was exploited by adults who held positions of authority over the young people in their care.

According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, Father Joseph Rocha served at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick from 1977 to 1982. Rocha is listed on the Diocese’s official list of credibly accused clergy. He is not the only person connected to the school whose conduct has drawn serious scrutiny.

In 2018, a whistleblower lawsuit was filed against Bishop Hendricken High School and the Diocese of Providence, alleging that they failed to investigate a teacher who allegedly used a classroom computer to solicit sexual encounters with younger men and male prostitutes. In December 2004, Timothy Sheldon, vice principal at Bishop Hendricken High School, was arrested and charged following allegations that he solicited an individual posing as a minor through an online chatroom.

In January 1986, Brother John M. Walderman, former principal of Bishop Hendricken High School, was arrested after he allegedly attempted to solicit a 17-year-old boy for sex. These incidents span decades and involve people at multiple levels of the school’s leadership, from classroom staff to administration.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s report on the Diocese of Providence confirmed that Bishop Hendricken was among the educational institutions where credibly accused clergy served. The pattern of abuse at the school reflects what investigators found across the Diocese: adults in positions of trust used their access to children to commit harm, and institutions failed to stop it.

Father Joseph Rocha and the Abuse Documented at Hendricken

A now 59-year-old man claims he was sexually abused by Father Joseph Rocha when he was 15 for his entire freshman year at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick. That claim was filed in Rhode Island Superior Court on July 1, 2026, the first day the new revival window opened. It is one of the most direct and detailed accounts of abuse tied to the school.

Rocha, who is deceased, is on the Attorney General’s list of credibly accused priests. The suit says the Diocese and the school, who employed Rocha, “failed to meaningfully address the systematic child sexual abuse by clergy members,” and that as a result, the plaintiff has had to endure lifelong pain, embarrassment, anguish, guilt, sorrow, fear, anxiety, depression and other issues directly attributable to the sexual abuse he faced as a child.

Rocha’s history within the Diocese reveals a troubling pattern. He served as a pastoral counselor and a judge on the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal while also being assigned to Hendricken. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s investigation found that accused clergy across the Diocese were frequently given access to minors through multiple overlapping roles, which made oversight even harder and abuse easier to hide.

The abuse described in these accounts did not happen in isolation. It happened inside a school. It happened during the school day, within a system that was supposed to protect students. When institutions look away, or fail to act on warning signs, they become part of the problem. Rhode Island law now allows survivors to hold those institutions directly accountable.

How the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report Connected the Diocese to Hendricken

The push for Rhode Island’s new law was closely tied to a 284-page report released in March 2026 by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. The report documented more than 300 survivors of abuse within the Diocese of Providence and identified 75 clergy members with credible allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 1950. It also outlined how the Diocese allegedly concealed that abuse for decades.

The Attorney General’s report named Bishop Hendricken High School directly as one of the educational institutions where credibly accused clergy served. The report also found that accused clergy were placed in hospitals, schools, and other institutions where they continued to have access to children, sometimes even after allegations had been raised against them.

The report identified 75 clergy, which include 61 diocesan priests or deacons, 13 religious order priests, and an extern priest who were credibly accused of abusing more than 300 children between 1950 and 2011. The Diocese’s handling of these accusations was described as a pattern of inaction, concealment, and revictimization.

The report also found that in virtually all reported cases, priests capitalized on their access to minors through the Church by seeking assignments or volunteer opportunities involving children and demonstrating excessive involvement in children’s lives. Schools like Bishop Hendricken gave accused clergy exactly that kind of structured, ongoing access to young people.

The investigation found that accused priests were repeatedly returned to ministry. For survivors who came forward years ago and were ignored, or who stayed silent because they feared no one would believe them, the Attorney General’s report is a powerful confirmation: you were not alone, and what happened to you was part of a much larger institutional failure.

Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200A/S-2616A) and What It Means for Hendricken Survivors

Rhode Island’s new law amends the statute of limitations for claims of sexual abuse of a child and creates a two-year window for victims to bring otherwise time-barred claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2026.

The legislation (2026-H 7200A, 2026-S 2616A) was sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Carol Hagan McEntee and Sen. Mark McKenney. Governor Dan McKee signed it into law on June 11, 2026.

Before this law, survivors who were abused at institutions like Bishop Hendricken faced a significant legal barrier. In 2023, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the prior 2019 law only applied to suits against individual perpetrators, not the institutions or supervisors who enabled them. That ruling left many survivors with no legal path forward against the Diocese, the school, or other organizations that failed to protect them.

The new law removes the statute of limitations entirely for a two-year period extending from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. It also allows lawsuits against “non-perpetrators,” meaning those who could have stopped the abuse, but did not. That is a critical change for Hendricken survivors, because it means the Diocese of Providence and the school itself can now be named as defendants in civil claims.

The new law establishes a two-year civil revival window that opens from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. During this 24-month period, survivors can file civil suits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had previously expired. If you were abused at Bishop Hendricken decades ago and thought your time had run out, this law changes that calculation entirely. The window is open now, but it will close on June 30, 2028, and that deadline will not move.

Your Legal Rights as a Survivor of Abuse at a Rhode Island Catholic School

Survivors of abuse at Bishop Hendricken High School may have civil claims against both the individual who abused them and the institutions that failed to stop it. A civil lawsuit is separate from criminal prosecution. You do not need a criminal conviction to pursue a civil claim, and you do not need to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil claims use a lower legal standard.

The new law specifically targets institutions and organizations such as churches, schools, youth programs, healthcare facilities and sports leagues, as well as supervisors. This means that if Bishop Hendricken or the Diocese of Providence knew about abuse, received complaints, or had reason to investigate and failed to act, they can be held accountable in civil court during the revival window.

Many survivors worry that they have no evidence, or that it has been too long, or that no one will believe them. These concerns are understandable, but they should not stop you from speaking with an attorney. Rhode Island courts have heard these cases. Survivors have come forward without physical evidence and been believed. Your account matters. The pattern of abuse documented by the Attorney General’s office gives individual survivor accounts important context and credibility.

You also have the right to file a lawsuit anonymously. Rhode Island courts permit the use of Jane Doe and John Doe designations in sexual abuse cases, which means your name does not have to appear in public court filings. If privacy is a concern, that option exists and can be discussed with your attorney.

Working with a dedicated sexual abuse lawyer who understands Rhode Island law, the Diocese of Providence’s history, and the specific dynamics of institutional abuse gives you the strongest possible foundation for your claim. Sommers Schwartz represents survivors across Rhode Island and is ready to listen without judgment.

Why Survivors of Institutional Abuse Often Wait to Come Forward

If you were abused at Bishop Hendricken and have carried that experience for years, or even decades, without telling anyone, you are not unusual. Research on childhood sexual trauma consistently shows that survivors frequently delay disclosure by many years. Shame, fear, confusion, and the power imbalance between a child and a trusted adult all play a role.

When the abuser is a priest or school official, the barriers are even higher. These were people in positions of spiritual and institutional authority. They were trusted by families, communities, and the Church itself. Children who experienced abuse in that context were often told, directly or indirectly, that no one would believe them, or that speaking out would cause harm to themselves or their families.

The lookback window reflects a broader recognition that delayed disclosure is common in cases involving childhood sexual abuse. Rhode Island’s legislature understood this when drafting H-7200A and S-2616A. The law was designed specifically to account for the reality that survivors often cannot come forward until years after the abuse occurred.

None of what happened to you was your fault. The responsibility for abuse lies entirely with the person who committed it, and with the institutions that looked the other way. You were a student. You were a child. You were owed protection, and you were failed. Reaching out to an attorney is not about reliving the past. It is about deciding, on your own terms, whether you want accountability and recognition for what you went through.

Sommers Schwartz approaches every case with care and respect for the survivor’s experience. You will not be pressured, judged, or rushed. If you are ready to talk, a compassionate sexual assault attorney at our firm will listen and help you understand what your options are under Rhode Island law.

FAQs About Bishop Hendricken High School Sexual Abuse Claims

Was Father Joseph Rocha the only person accused of abuse connected to Bishop Hendricken High School?

No. Father Joseph Rocha is the most prominently documented figure on the Rhode Island Attorney General’s credibly accused clergy list who served at Bishop Hendricken, but other individuals connected to the school have also faced serious allegations. These include a former vice principal arrested in 2004 on charges related to soliciting a minor online, and a former principal arrested in 1986 on charges of soliciting a teenage boy for sex. The pattern of allegations at Hendricken spans multiple decades and multiple roles within the school.

My abuse happened in the 1970s or 1980s. Is it too late to file a claim?

Under Rhode Island’s new law, H-7200A/S-2616A, signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, a two-year revival window is now open for survivors to bring otherwise time-barred claims. This window runs through June 30, 2028. Even if your abuse happened decades ago and you were previously told your claim had expired, this new law may give you the right to file. You should speak with an attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your specific situation, because the window will close and will not reopen.

Can I file a lawsuit against the Diocese of Providence, not just the individual who abused me?

Yes. Rhode Island’s new law specifically allows civil claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse of a child. Before this law, a 2023 Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling limited claims to individual perpetrators only. The new law corrects that gap. If the Diocese of Providence or Bishop Hendricken High School knew about abuse, failed to investigate, or moved an accused person to another position where they continued to have access to children, those institutions can now be named as defendants in a civil lawsuit during the revival window.

Do I have to use my real name if I file a lawsuit?

No. Rhode Island courts allow sexual abuse survivors to file civil lawsuits using anonymous designations such as Jane Doe or John Doe. Your real name does not have to appear in public court documents. This option is available to protect your privacy while still allowing you to pursue a legal claim. Your attorney can explain how anonymous filings work in Rhode Island Superior Court and help you decide whether that approach is right for your situation.

What should I do if I am not sure whether what happened to me qualifies as sexual abuse?

You do not need to have a legal definition in mind before you call. If something happened to you at Bishop Hendricken, or involving someone connected to the school or the Diocese of Providence, and it felt wrong, you have every right to speak with an attorney and describe your experience. A lawyer can help you understand whether what you experienced falls within the scope of a civil claim under Rhode Island law. There is no obligation to file after that conversation, and speaking with an attorney is confidential. What you share will not be disclosed without your permission.

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