Father Peter Scagnelli served as a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Providence for nearly two decades, moving through parishes across Rhode Island before being suspended in 1994. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office determined that 72 clergy members were credibly accused of child sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Providence, and Father Peter Scagnelli is among them. If you were abused by Father Scagnelli, or by any priest who served in the Diocese of Providence, you are not alone, and what happened to you was not your fault. Rhode Island’s new law has opened a legal door that many survivors thought was permanently closed. The attorneys at Sommers Schwartz are here to help you walk through it.

Table of Contents

• Who Was Father Peter Scagnelli and Where Did He Serve?
• What the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report Revealed About Father Scagnelli
• How the Diocese of Providence Responded to Complaints Against Father Scagnelli
• Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law and What It Means for Scagnelli Survivors
• Why Survivors of Father Scagnelli Should Consider a Civil Claim Now
• FAQs About Father Peter Scagnelli and Rhode Island Clergy Abuse Claims

Who Was Father Peter Scagnelli and Where Did He Serve?

Father Peter Scagnelli was born on January 13, 1949, and ordained on August 6, 1976. His assignment history in the Diocese of Providence included postings at multiple parishes across Rhode Island, and he was ultimately suspended on leave in July 1994.

According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s credibly accused clergy records, Scagnelli’s assignments spanned a wide geographic area. He served at St. John the Evangelist Church in North Smithfield, St. Ann Church in Providence, St. Timothy Church in Warwick, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Bristol, Roger Williams University in Bristol, the East Bay Regional CYO Center in East Providence, St. Mary of the Bay Church in Warren, the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence, and the Office of Worship and Liturgy in Providence. He also served at Sacred Heart Church in Woonsocket and briefly at St. Anthony Church in Woonsocket before being sent to St. Anselm Abbey in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1991 under the cover of a sabbatical.

That breadth of service meant Scagnelli had access to children across many communities. Each assignment represented a new opportunity for contact with minors. Understanding where he served matters because survivors from any of those parishes or programs may have legal rights under Rhode Island law today.

Father Peter Scagnelli died on July 12, 2017. His death does not extinguish civil claims against the Diocese of Providence or other institutional defendants who may have known about his conduct and failed to act. Speaking with a sexual assault lawyer who understands Rhode Island’s current laws can help you understand whether a civil claim is still available to you.

What the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report Revealed About Father Scagnelli

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s investigation produced a comprehensive record of what the Diocese of Providence knew about Father Peter Scagnelli and when they knew it. As part of the investigation, the Office reviewed over 250,000 pages of records produced by the Diocese, including personnel files of accused priests, records of internal investigations of abuse complaints, and correspondence involving bishops and other senior Diocesan leaders.

The Attorney General’s report documents that a complainant reported to the Rhode Island State Police in 1993 that Father Scagnelli had sexually abused him in the late 1970s at St. Timothy Church in Warwick. That complainant reported that Scagnelli regularly invited teenagers to sleep at the rectory, provided them with alcohol, and would wrestle with altar boys and touch their penises before Mass in the sanctuary area of the church.

The report further documents that, in 1991, Scagnelli was sent to St. Anselm Abbey in New Hampshire shortly after allegedly abusing his seventh victim, an 11-year-old boy, in the rectory of Sacred Heart Parish in Woonsocket. In a February 1991 letter to Bishop Gelineau, Scagnelli himself acknowledged the need for a false public narrative, writing that the reassignment could be described as a sabbatical for public purposes while serving a different private purpose entirely.

The Diocese received its first two documented formal complaints against Scagnelli in 1993. One complainant reported abuse in the 1970s when he was 16 or 17 years old. The second reported abuse when he was 12 or 13 years old, including forced oral sex. In total, the Attorney General identified 75 credibly accused clergy who reportedly abused over 300 victims from 1950 to 2011. Father Scagnelli is listed among those credibly accused, and the Diocese received nine total complaints of abuse or grooming against him.

How the Diocese of Providence Responded to Complaints Against Father Scagnelli

The Diocese of Providence’s response to complaints about Father Scagnelli followed a pattern the Attorney General’s report describes as institutional protection over child safety. For decades, the Diocese of Providence engaged in a well-worn pattern of protecting the reputation of the Church and its priests over the welfare of children, failing to report abuse to civil authorities, failing to properly investigate complaints internally, and failing to remove accused priests from positions where they had access to even more children.

In Scagnelli’s case, the Diocese used a sabbatical arrangement to move him out of Rhode Island after his alleged seventh victim came forward, rather than reporting the conduct to law enforcement or removing him from ministry. Internal records show that Scagnelli himself proposed the false public narrative and that diocesan leadership accepted it.

After formal complaints arrived in 1993, a 1994 internal memorandum by the Diocese’s Office of Education and Compliance suggested warning the abbot at St. Anselm rather than taking decisive protective action. Scagnelli was not suspended until July 21, 1994. He was eventually placed on the Diocese’s 2019 List of Credibly Accused Clergy, but that public disclosure came more than two decades after the Diocese first received documented complaints.

This pattern of institutional concealment is precisely what Rhode Island’s new law targets. The 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. If the Diocese knew about Scagnelli’s conduct and protected him rather than the children in his care, that institutional failure is now actionable under Rhode Island law.

Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law and What It Means for Scagnelli Survivors

Rhode Island’s new child sexual abuse law, H-7200A/S-2616A, was signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and takes effect on July 1, 2026. This law is a direct response to the scale of abuse documented in the Diocese of Providence and represents one of the most significant legal changes for survivors in Rhode Island’s history.

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. For survivors of Father Scagnelli who believed their time had run out, this window reopens the courthouse doors.

The law also changes the rules going forward. Future claims must be filed by whichever date is later: either 35 years from the date of the abusive act or seven years from when the survivor first discovers or reasonably connects their adult injuries to the childhood abuse. The clock does not begin until a survivor turns 18.

In 2023, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the 2019 law only applied to suits against individual perpetrators, not the institutions or supervisors who enabled them. The new 2026 law directly addresses that gap. 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 the Diocese of Providence, as an institution, can now be named as a defendant by survivors whose claims were previously barred.

Time matters here. The revival window closes on June 30, 2028. Survivors who want to pursue a claim should speak with a sexual abuse lawyer as soon as possible to protect their rights under this law.

Why Survivors of Father Scagnelli Should Consider a Civil Claim Now

A civil lawsuit serves a purpose that criminal prosecution cannot always fulfill. Criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt and are subject to their own statutes of limitations. A civil claim, by contrast, allows survivors to pursue accountability and compensation through the civil court system, using a lower standard of proof. Rhode Island’s revival window makes that option available right now for survivors whose claims were previously time-barred.

Father Scagnelli died in 2017, but civil claims can still be brought against the Diocese of Providence as an institutional defendant. Though the Diocese cooperated in producing a large volume of records, which laid bare the deep institutional and personal failures at the heart of this crisis, the investigatory process was also not without roadblocks of the Diocese’s own making. That documented institutional conduct forms the foundation of potential civil liability under the new law.

Many survivors of clergy abuse carry their experiences for years or even decades before they feel ready to speak. Trauma does not follow a legal calendar. Rhode Island’s legislature recognized this when it passed H-7200A/S-2616A. The lookback window reflects a broader recognition that delayed disclosure is common in cases involving childhood sexual abuse. You do not need to explain or justify why you are coming forward now. What happened to you was wrong, and the law is on your side.

Sommers Schwartz represents survivors of clergy sexual abuse across Rhode Island. Our attorneys understand both the legal process and the deeply personal nature of these claims. We work with survivors at every stage, from the first confidential conversation to the resolution of a case. If you were abused by Father Scagnelli or by any member of the Diocese of Providence clergy, we encourage you to reach out. Speaking with a sexual assault attorney costs nothing, and it may be the most important step you take toward reclaiming your voice and your future.

FAQs About Father Peter Scagnelli and Rhode Island Clergy Abuse Claims

Father Scagnelli died in 2017. Can I still file a civil lawsuit?

Yes. The death of an individual abuser does not automatically end civil claims against the institutions that enabled or covered up the abuse. Under Rhode Island’s new law, H-7200A/S-2616A, signed on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, survivors can bring claims against institutions and supervisors, including the Diocese of Providence, during the two-year revival window that runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. The Diocese, as an institution, can be named as a defendant independent of whether the individual abuser is living.

What is the two-year revival window and does it apply to me?

The revival window is a provision in Rhode Island’s new child sexual abuse law that temporarily lifts the statute of limitations for claims that had previously expired. It runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. If you were sexually abused by Father Scagnelli or any other clergy member in Rhode Island as a child, and your claim was previously time-barred, this window gives you the opportunity to file a civil lawsuit against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up that abuse. The best way to know whether it applies to your specific situation is to speak with an attorney.

What did the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report say about Father Scagnelli?

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s comprehensive report on child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence, released in March 2026, identified Father Peter Scagnelli as a credibly accused clergy member. The report documents that the Diocese received nine total complaints of abuse or grooming against Scagnelli, including seven while he was still living. It also documents that diocesan leadership was aware of complaints and used a sabbatical arrangement in 1991 to move Scagnelli out of Rhode Island rather than reporting the conduct to law enforcement. Scagnelli was not formally suspended until July 1994, and he was not publicly named until the Diocese’s 2019 list of credibly accused clergy.

Will I have to testify publicly or reveal my identity to file a claim?

Not necessarily. Rhode Island courts allow survivors to file civil lawsuits under pseudonyms, such as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe,” in certain circumstances. This can protect your privacy while still allowing you to pursue a legal claim. Your attorney can explain the process for filing anonymously and help you understand what level of public disclosure, if any, your specific case may involve. At Sommers Schwartz, we treat every client’s privacy with the highest level of care and sensitivity.

What parishes or programs should I mention when I contact Sommers Schwartz about Father Scagnelli?

When you contact us, share any details you remember about where and when the abuse occurred. Father Scagnelli served at multiple locations across Rhode Island, including St. Timothy Church in Warwick, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Bristol, Sacred Heart Church in Woonsocket, the East Bay Regional CYO Center in East Providence, and several other parishes. Any detail you remember, even if it seems small, can help our attorneys evaluate your claim. You do not need to have perfect memory or documentation to speak with us. We will listen, and we will help you figure out what options are available to you.

More Resources About Clergy Abuse

• Diocese of Providence Clergy Abuse
• Father John Abruzzese
• Father Raymond Allard
• Father Argencourt
• Father Azzarone
• Father Barnes
• Father Battel
• Father Belhumeur
• Father Bordignon
• Father Dennis Brodeur
• Father Campbell
• Father Carpentier
• Father Cavanaugh
• Father Charland
• Father Corbesero
• Father Crafton
• Father D’Angelo
• Father DeAngelis
• Father Louis Demers
• Father Albert Desrosiers
• Father Paul Desrosiers
• Father Diogo
• Father Dolan
• Father Doran
• Father Dunn
• Father Dziob
• Father Edes
• Father Feeney
• Father Oscar Ferland
• Father Ferry
• Father Fitzgerald
• Father Flanagan
• Father Gagnon
• Father Gillooly
• Father Gorton
• Father Guertin
• Father Holden
• Father James Jackson
• Father Edward Kelley
• Father Lacasse
• Father LaMountain
• Father Leboeuf
• Father Paul Henry Leech
• Father Lepire
• Father Lonardo
• Father Philip Magaldi
• Father Manu
• Father Normand Marcantonio
• Father Joseph McCra
• Father McIntyre
• Father Meehan
• Father Meglio
• Father Menard
• Father Micarelli
• Father O’Connell
• Father J.F. O’Neil
• Father W. O’Neill
• Father Powers
• Father Rafferty
• Father Raiche
• Father Reynolds
• Father Rocha
• Father Sadowski
• Father Santagata
• Father Francis Santilli
• Father Smyth
• Father Tanguay
• Father Tedeschi
• Father Tormey
• Father Tousignant
• Father Turillo
• Father Ventre