Rev. Gregory Yacyshyn

Assignment Record– Rev. Gregory Yacyshyn

Summary of Case: Gregory Yacyshyn was ordained for the Rockville Centre diocese in 1998. He assisted in parishes in Greenlawn and Bay Shore before being named pastor of a Mastic Beach parish in 2007. Yacyshyn was accused in a lawsuit filed in January 2015 of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in 2003, around the time of the girl's first communion. He denied the abuse. When her parents learned of the accusations they informed the diocese and law enforcement. Yacyshyn was kept in ministry. The diocese called her claims, "an unfortunate publicity stunt." In April 2016 another lawsuit was filed, this time by a 20-year-old man who alleged sexual abuse by Yacyshyn when he was 5 to 7 years-old in 2001-2003. Again, Yachshyn denied the allegations. In May 2016 he remains in ministry.

Ordained: 1998

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1998 Diocese of Rockville Centre Bishop was John Raymond McGann (1976-2000), followed by James Thomas McHugh (2000). McHugh was succeeded by William Francis Murphy (2001-).	2003	St. Francis of Assisi	Greenlawn • Accused by a 20-year-old woman in a January 2015 lawsuit of sexually abusing her when she was 8 years-old, around the time of her first communion in 2003. When the girl's parents learned of the allegations, they informed law enforcement and the diocese. Yacyshyn was kept in ministry. The diocese called the accusations "an unfortunate publicity stunt." His accuser stated, “As a child, I was sexually abused by Father Greg. With counseling and support of my family, I now know I did nothing wrong,” • In a lawsuit filed in April 2016, Yacyshyn was accused by a 20-year-old man of sexually abusing him as a 5 to 7-year-old boy during 2001-2003. Yacyshyn denied the allegations and was kept in ministry.	NY	2/4	St. Francis was affiliated with Trinity Regional School, which had 500-462 students, and a religious education program with 641-670 students.
2003	2007	St. Patrick's	Bay Shore	NY	3/7, 3/8	St. Patrick's had a school with 480-420 students.
2007	2016	St. Jude's	Mastic Beach	NY	1/5, 1/7, 1/6	St. Jude's had a school with 294 students, and a religious education program with 1,500-900 students.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1999-2014).

• L.I. Woman Files Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Abuse At Hands Of Priest When She Was 8, CBS New York, January 21, 2015
• Woman Sues Priest, Diocese Over Alleged Sexual Abuse When She Was 8, By Andrew Siff And Marc Santia, NBC New York, January 21, 2015
• Guest Blog: SNAP Update: Where Is the Transparency?, Hamilton and Griffin on Rights, April 7, 2015
• Judge Rules Li Woman’s Lawsuit Can Proceed against Priest She Claims Molested Her, CBS New York, December 15, 2015
• Lawsuit says Catholic priest sexually abused Long Island man, By Bart Jones, Newsday, April 26, 2016
• NY--Second abuse case filed vs. priest still on the job, By David Clohessy, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, April 26, 2016
• Church Shielded Abusive Priest, Man Says, By Nick Divito, Courthouse News Service, April 29, 2016
• Group Slams Rockville Centre Diocese for Not Removing Priest Who Was Sued for Alleged Abuse, CBS New York, May 6, 2016
• Sex abuse victims’ advocates call on Diocese of Rockville Centre to remove priest accused of rape, By Krista Mcnally, Fios 1,
May 06, 2016
• Victims Group Wants Accused Priest Suspended, News 12, May 6, 2016

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Yacyshyn's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on May 10, 2016.