St. Jude’s Parish in Lincoln, Rhode Island, is a Roman Catholic parish under the Diocese of Providence, located at 301 Front Street. For survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the parish’s connection to the Diocese of Providence, and to credibly accused priests who served there, makes it a significant location in Rhode Island’s clergy abuse history. If you were abused at St. Jude’s or by a priest assigned there, you are not alone, and what happened to you was not your fault. Rhode Island law now gives you a real path to justice.

Table of Contents

• Credibly Accused Priests Assigned to St. Jude’s Parish, Lincoln
• How the Diocese of Providence Enabled and Concealed Abuse at Parish Level
• Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law and What It Means for St. Jude’s Survivors
• Why Survivors of Childhood Abuse Often Wait Decades to Come Forward
• How a Civil Claim Against St. Jude’s Parish or the Diocese of Providence Works
• FAQs About St. Jude’s Parish Lincoln Sexual Abuse Claims

Credibly Accused Priests Assigned to St. Jude’s Parish, Lincoln

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office published a detailed report in March 2026 identifying clergy members with credible allegations of child sexual abuse within the Diocese of Providence. That report named priests who served at St. Jude’s Parish in Lincoln, and their assignment histories are documented in the public record.

Father Paul Henry Leech is among the most documented cases tied directly to St. Jude’s. The Attorney General’s report identified 75 clergy members who sexually abused more than 300 children since 1950. Leech was one of those identified. According to the Attorney General’s records, Leech served at St. Jude Church in Lincoln from 1983 to 1984, following an assignment at St. Joseph Church in Woonsocket. He was suspended on July 9, 1984.

The Diocese’s handling of Leech’s case is particularly troubling. According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report on child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence, the Diocese coordinated Leech’s admission to the House of Affirmation, a treatment center in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, in early May of 1984, after Rhode Island authorities had begun investigating him. The Diocese also paid for the costs of his legal defense and independently advocated for Leech during his criminal proceedings. Leech ultimately pled nolo contendere and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, with 12 years suspended with probation, before Superior Court Judge John Orton.

Father James Jackson also appears in the Attorney General’s records with a documented assignment at St. Jude Church in Lincoln in 1957, following years at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick. Jackson was ordained in 1937 and his assignment history places him at multiple Diocese of Providence parishes across several decades.

These documented assignments are not allegations invented after the fact. They come directly from Diocesan personnel records reviewed by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. If you were a child at St. Jude’s and were harmed by a priest or other church figure, your experience fits a pattern that has now been confirmed at the highest levels of state government. Speaking with a sexual assault lawyer who understands the Diocese of Providence’s history can help you understand what your options are today.

How the Diocese of Providence Enabled and Concealed Abuse at Parish Level

The abuse that occurred at parishes like St. Jude’s did not happen in isolation. The Attorney General’s report accused the Catholic Diocese of Providence of a “well-worn pattern” of failing to remove priests accused of child sexual abuse and keeping the abuse secret over decades. That pattern directly affected what happened, and did not happen, at individual parishes across Rhode Island, including Lincoln.

In Leech’s case, the evidence shows that Diocesan leadership was aware of the investigation before his suspension was made official. Rather than immediately removing him from ministry and alerting parishioners, the Diocese arranged private treatment and funded his legal defense. A November 1985 invoice from Leech’s defense attorney was addressed to the Diocese’s own attorney, and records show that Auxiliary Bishop Kenneth Angell approved the payment. A Diocesan representative was also present in the judge’s chambers on the morning of Leech’s sentencing.

This is the institutional behavior that Rhode Island’s new law is designed to address. Survivors who were harmed not just by an individual abuser but by an institution that covered up that abuse now have legal recourse against both. The Diocese’s choices, including reassigning accused priests, funding their defenses, and keeping abuse quiet, were decisions made by supervisors and administrators. Those decisions caused real harm to real children.

The investigation found that accused priests were repeatedly returned to ministry. For parishes like St. Jude’s, that meant children remained in contact with men who had already been identified as dangerous. Understanding this institutional dimension is central to any civil claim arising from abuse at a Diocese of Providence parish.

Rhode Island’s New Child Sexual Abuse Law and What It Means for St. Jude’s Survivors

Rhode Island passed a landmark law in 2026 that directly affects survivors of abuse at St. Jude’s Parish and other Diocese of Providence locations. Governor Dan McKee signed legislation amending the statute of limitations for child victim claims of sexual abuse and creating 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.

This law, known as H-7200a/S-2616a, matters enormously for survivors who believed their time to file a lawsuit had passed. 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.

The law also addresses a gap left by earlier legislation. In 2019, the General Assembly extended the statute of limitations and gave previously time-barred survivors an opportunity to sue. But 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. H-7200a/S-2616a closes that gap. It specifically targets institutions and supervisors, meaning the Diocese of Providence itself, and those who managed accused priests, can now be held accountable in civil court.

For a survivor of abuse at St. Jude’s Parish, this means a claim that once seemed impossible may now be viable. The window is open, but it is not permanent. All time-barred claims must be filed by June 30, 2028, or they may be forever barred. Reaching out to a sexual abuse lawyer now gives you the best chance to act while the window is open.

Why Survivors of Childhood Abuse Often Wait Decades to Come Forward

Many people who were abused at St. Jude’s Parish as children have carried that experience in silence for years, sometimes for decades. That silence is not weakness, and it is not evidence that the abuse did not happen. It is a recognized and well-documented response to trauma, especially when the abuser was a trusted authority figure like a priest.

Children who are abused by clergy face unique psychological barriers to disclosure. The abuser often holds enormous power, spiritual authority, and community trust. Coming forward means risking disbelief, family conflict, and the loss of a community. Many survivors do not fully understand what happened to them until they are adults, and some do not connect their emotional or psychological struggles to the abuse until much later in life.

The lookback window reflects a broader recognition that delayed disclosure is common in cases involving childhood sexual abuse. Rhode Island’s legislature acknowledged this reality when crafting H-7200a/S-2616a. The law does not punish survivors for the time it took them to come forward. It creates space for survivors to act when they are ready.

If you were abused at St. Jude’s as a child and are only now considering whether to pursue a civil claim, you are not too late, and you are not alone. The attorneys at Sommers Schwartz understand the courage it takes to speak up. They work with survivors at every stage, whether you are just beginning to process what happened or you have been thinking about this for years. Your experience is valid, and your options are real.

How a Civil Claim Against St. Jude’s Parish or the Diocese of Providence Works

A civil lawsuit is separate from a criminal case. You do not need to wait for a criminal investigation, and you do not need a prior criminal conviction to pursue a civil claim. A civil case allows you, as a survivor, to seek financial accountability from the individuals and institutions responsible for your abuse.

Under Rhode Island law, a civil claim arising from childhood sexual abuse can name both the individual abuser and the institution that employed or supervised that abuser. In the context of St. Jude’s Parish, that institution is the Diocese of Providence. The evidence already in the public record, including the Attorney General’s 2026 report and the Diocesan personnel files reviewed during that investigation, provides a documented foundation for understanding how the Diocese managed, or failed to manage, credibly accused priests like Father Leech.

Civil claims in Rhode Island are filed in Superior Court. The process involves gathering evidence, identifying the parties responsible, and building a case that demonstrates both the abuse and the institutional failure that allowed it to happen. An experienced sexual assault attorney can handle these steps on your behalf, so you do not have to face the legal process alone.

Sommers Schwartz represents survivors across Rhode Island and in multiple states. The firm takes sexual abuse cases on a contingency basis, which means you pay no legal fees unless your case results in a recovery. If you were abused at St. Jude’s Parish in Lincoln, or by a priest who served there, contact Sommers Schwartz today for a free, confidential consultation. The two-year lookback window under H-7200a/S-2616a is open now, and every month that passes is a month closer to the June 30, 2028, deadline.

FAQs About St. Jude’s Parish Lincoln Sexual Abuse Claims

Which priests assigned to St. Jude’s Parish in Lincoln have been credibly accused of sexual abuse?

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report on Diocese of Providence clergy abuse identifies Father Paul Henry Leech and Father James Jackson as priests with documented assignments at St. Jude Church in Lincoln. Leech served there from 1983 to 1984 and was suspended in July 1984. Jackson’s assignment records show a posting at St. Jude Church in 1957. Both are named in the Attorney General’s public report based on Diocesan personnel records and abuse allegations.

Can I still file a lawsuit if the abuse at St. Jude’s happened decades ago?

Yes. Rhode Island’s new law, H-7200a/S-2616a, signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, creates a two-year revival window that runs through June 30, 2028. During this period, survivors can file civil lawsuits against institutions and supervisors even if the statute of limitations on their claims had previously expired. If you were abused as a child at St. Jude’s, this window applies to you regardless of when the abuse occurred.

Can I sue the Diocese of Providence, not just the individual priest who abused me?

Yes. H-7200a/S-2616a specifically allows survivors to bring claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. The Diocese of Providence, as the institution that assigned, supervised, and in documented cases financially supported accused priests, can be named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit. The Attorney General’s report provides substantial public documentation of institutional conduct within the Diocese.

Do I have to go to court or testify publicly if I file a civil claim?

Many civil sexual abuse cases resolve before trial, and Rhode Island law allows survivors to file under a pseudonym in certain circumstances, which can help protect your privacy. Your attorney can walk you through the options available to you, including how to protect your identity during the legal process. You do not need to make any immediate decisions about public disclosure when you contact Sommers Schwartz for an initial consultation.

How do I get started if I want to talk to someone about what happened at St. Jude’s?

The first step is a free, confidential consultation with Sommers Schwartz. You can share as much or as little as you are comfortable with at first. The attorneys at Sommers Schwartz represent survivors of clergy abuse in Rhode Island and across multiple states, and they work on a contingency basis, meaning no legal fees unless your case results in a recovery. You can reach the firm by phone or through the contact form on sommerspc.com. There is no obligation, and everything you share is protected by attorney-client confidentiality.

More Resources About Parish & Diocesan Institution Locations

• St. Mary’s Church, Cranston
• Our Lady of Mercy, East Greenwich
• St. Aloysius Home, Smithfield
• Jesus Savior Church, Newport
• St. Matthew Church, Cranston
• St. Mary Church, Bristol
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Providence
• St. Raphael Academy, Pawtucket
• St. Joseph Church, Woonsocket
• St. Margaret Church, East Providence
• St. Anthony Church, North Providence
• Immaculate Conception Church, Cranston
• St. Michael Church, Providence
• Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Programs in Rhode Island