Bishop Hubbard named in fourth lawsuit

A fourth lawsuit has accused Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard of alleged sexual abuse.

The lawsuit alleges Bishop Hubbard and Father Gerald Kampfer, who died in 2003, sexually abused a child who was an altar boy at St. John the Baptist Church in Chestertown. The lawsuit was filed in State Supreme Court on Friday, Oct. 11.

Bishop Hubbard, who had taken a leave of absence from his ministry after he was first accused of abuse in August, and has previously said that “he never sexually abused anyone,” was resolute again in his innocence in a statement released on Sunday. 

“I adamantly deny each of the allegations including the most recent one,” Bishop Hubbard said in the statement. “… I don’t know if any of the plaintiffs in these court documents were abused. If so, I hope they find healing and justice. I can only declare with absolute certitude that I was never their abuser or the abuser of anyone else.”

Bishop Hubbard, who was first accused of misconduct in 2004 but cleared during an investigation by Mary Jo White, the former attorney for the Southern District of New York, added in the statement: “It leads one to wonder why these allegations didn’t surface during the White investigation in 2004 or with the Independent Mediation Assistance Program conducted by Judge Howard Levine and his associates between 2004 and 2008, or its continuance to the present day.”

Mary DeTurris Poust, director of communications for the Diocese, said: “The Diocese of Albany remains focused on survivors, intent on making sure the truth comes out in every case that has been filed.” DeTurris Poust added the Diocese will no longer comment on individual cases “because we do not want to prejudice any investigation or pending litigation.”

Bishop Hubbard has been named in the four lawsuits since the Child Victims Act (CVA) went into effect on Aug. 14. The CVA allows a one-year lookback window for previously time-barred lawsuits.