James Hopkins

Ordained:
Diocese: Diocese of Pittsburgh

From Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

In November 2012, the Diocese of Pittsburgh received an e-mail communication from an adult male about Father James Hopkins.  He stated that several decades earlier, Hopkins performed a “medical exam” on him when he was freshman at St. Fidelis Seminary High School. The exam involved the young man bending over naked in front of Hopkins and listening to Hopkins make creepy comments about his behind.  There was no indication in the records that the Diocese conducted an investigation or attempted to contact the male about counseling.

That same month, the Diocese sent a letter to the Butler County District Attorney’s Office, advising of the allegation. The letter stated that Hopkins was transferred to the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey in 1973.  In 1995, he pled guilty to sexually molesting an altar boy in Camden County.  He received a ten year prison sentence and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Additional information regarding the widespread sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Dioceses of Pennsylvania and the systemic cover up by senior church officials is compiled in the Pennsylvania Diocese Victim’s Report published by the Pennsylvania Attorney General following a two-year grand jury investigation.  A complete copy of the Report is available on the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s website.