PROVIDENCE — Five former altar boys filed a civil complaint Wednesday in Rhode Island Superior Court seeking to hold the Diocese of Providence and the Church of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus in Pawtucket accountable for alleged childhood sexual abuse by the late Fr. Armand Ventre.
What the filing says
The complaint, styled J. Does 1-5 v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence, et al. and filed in Bristol County as Case No. PC-2026-04200, accuses the Diocese and the Pawtucket parish of creating and facilitating an environment that allowed Ventre to groom and abuse altar boys who were minors at the time.
“Like countless innocent Rhode Island children, Plaintiffs trusted Defendants to protect, nurture, and guide them, and Defendants violated that trust in a manner that robbed Plaintiffs of their childhood and left them with a lifetime of struggle.”
The suit names multiple causes of action, including negligence, negligent supervision and hiring, and premises liability, and requests unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The plaintiffs are represented by national firm Grant & Eisenhofer and partner state counsel; the legal team says it currently represents more than 70 survivors in state and federal actions.
Context and history
The new state Superior Court filing follows an earlier federal action the same lawyers brought under a recently enacted Rhode Island law that allows survivors to sue regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred. The plaintiffs in both filings are identified only by initials to protect their privacy, a provision the lawyers invoked in these matters.
The complaint ties its allegations to the findings of the Rhode Island attorney general’s investigation into decades of systemic clergy sexual abuse, which documented Ventre as a notorious serial predator-priest. The filing notes Ventre served at Saint Teresa’s beginning in the 1970s and alleges the parish leadership and the Diocese failed in their duty to prevent or stop the abuse.
- Who filed: Five former altar boys (J. Does 1–5)
- Defendants: The Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence and the Church of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, Pawtucket
- Claims: Negligence; negligent supervision and hiring; premises liability
- Case: Bristol County Superior Court, PC-2026-04200
Local impact
The complaint lands amid continuing fallout from the attorney general’s wide-ranging probe into clergy abuse in Rhode Island, an investigation that reshaped the conversation about accountability for church institutions across the state. For Providence-area residents, the filings reopen wounds for victims and raise questions about parish oversight, diocesan record-keeping and the adequacy of internal safeguards in places where children participated in religious education and altar service.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs framed the litigation as part of a larger effort: they are pursuing claims in both state and federal court and represent a growing number of survivors seeking redress. The Diocese of Providence has not been quoted in the complaint text released by the plaintiffs; court filings and future hearings will provide a public record of the parties’ positions.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Plaintiffs | Five former altar boys (J. Does 1–5), Rhode Island residents |
| Defendants | Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence; Church of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, Pawtucket |
| Alleged abuser | Fr. Armand Ventre (deceased) |
| Claims | Negligence; negligent supervision/hiring; premises liability |
| Court | Bristol County Superior Court — PC-2026-04200 |
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say the Diocese and parish facilitated circumstances in which Ventre could allegedly manipulate and abuse children under the guise of religious and educational instruction. The complaint stresses that, because the plaintiffs were minors at the time, they could not consent to the alleged misconduct.
For Providence and neighboring communities, the suit is a reminder that legal reckoning for clergy abuse continues years after alleged incidents. Expect the Diocese to respond in court papers and, potentially, at hearings where evidence will be contested and records scrutinized. The litigation also signals that survivors and their counsel will continue to use both state and federal avenues to press claims under the new legal framework in Rhode Island.
As the case proceeds, court filings and scheduled hearings will be the primary source of new facts. For now, the Superior Court complaint puts the Diocese back in the legal spotlight and reasserts long-running demands for accountability from victims of clergy abuse in Rhode Island.
