Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Harold C. Depp

Father Harold C. Depp was a former Catholic priest who began his ministry career in the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI. However, while serving in California as a visiting minister, he sexually abused a young boy for several years, eventually leading to criminal charges on two separate occasions.

Primary Entity Name: Harold C. Depp
Common Variations / Aliases: Father Harold Depp, Fr. Harold, Fr. Depp, Harold Depp
Role/Title at Time of Incident: Parish Priest
Current Status: Left active ministry

This page summarizes the history of abuse allegations against Father Harold C. Depp, his ministry assignments, and the institution’s response to his behavior.

Public Identification and Clergy Status

Father Harold C. Depp reportedly left his assignment at a Detroit parish sometime in 1963. In the early 1970s, it was discovered that he had sexually abused a boy in California while a visiting pastor. The following entities have publicly identified Depp for sexual abuse:

The Archdiocese of Detroit, via a published list of credibly accused priests, in June 2019
California Attorney General’s office, via criminal charges of sexual abuse, in 2003

Depp’s identification by these entities indicates that the sexual abuse allegations against him were substantiated.

Key Status Facts

Ordination Year: 1959 in the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI

Years in Active Ministry: 1959-1982 (roughly 23 years)

Locations Where He Served: Archdiocese of Detroit, MI, California, and Alaska

Restrictions: Never officially left the priesthood, placed “on leave” when he departed his parish in 1963

Criminal Convictions: Served an eight-year sentence in Alaska for sexual abuse of a child in the 1980s, convicted of over 40 counts of sexual abuse of a minor (1971) in California in 2003, but the charges were dropped due to the statute of limitations

Laicization: N/A

Public Disclosure: June 10, 2019, in the Archdiocese of Detroit

Assignment History

Primary Diocese: Archdiocese of Detroit, MI

Parish Assignments (as documented in public reports):

1959 – Ordained in the Archdiocese of Detroit

1959 – Associate Pastor at St. Linus Church in Dearborn, MI

1961 – Associate Pastor at St. Athanasius in Roseville, MI

1963 – Associate Pastor at Church of the Madonna in Detroit, MI

1963 – Leave of absence after he leaves the parish unexpectedly

Non-Church Assignments:

1963 – Chaplain at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI

Known Allegations

There are two known accounts of Harold Depp sexually abusing young children. In the early 1970s, Depp allegedly abused a young boy while serving as a visiting pastor in California from the Archdiocese of Detroit. According to reports, the victim was abused while Depp was staying at the Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, CA, which was called St. Charles Priory at the time. When Depp was asked to leave the abbey, the abuse occurred at two other locations. The arrest records, which did not happen until 2003, include 20 felony counts of oral copulation, one felony count of sodomy, one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, and 20 misdemeanor counts of sexual molestation.

This abuse was only reported by the victim in 2003, which means the charges had to be dropped due to the statute of limitations. However, Harold Depp was also charged with similar crimes in Alaska. Though there are fewer details about this misconduct, it is evident that Depp sexually abused a minor in Alaska in the 1980s. He was then arrested in 1982 and served eight years in prison.

In the 1980s, the Archdiocese of Detroit learned of Depp’s arrest and imprisonment in Alaska. According to diocesan reports, there are no records of sexual abuse allegations connected to Depp’s assignments in Michigan. Since Depp walked away from his assignment at the Church of the Madonna, he had never officially left the priesthood in Detroit; instead, he was designated “absent on leave.”

Summary: Harold Depp committed vile acts of sexual abuse against minors in California and Alaska after leaving his parish assignments in Detroit, eventually serving eight years in prison in Alaska and having a second set of charges dropped in California.

Overseeing Authorities During Key Periods:

Archbishop John Francis Dearden in Detroit (1958-1980)
Archbishop Edmund Casimir Szoka in Detroit (1981-1990)
Bishop Leo Maher in the Diocese of San Diego (1969-1990)

Associated Organizations:

Henry Ford Hospital

Institutional Actions and Review

Harold Depp’s confusing behavior in the lead-up to his abuse made the church’s response somewhat convoluted. In 1963, Depp left his assignment in Detroit, just four years after his ordination in the Archdiocese. Church officials claimed he simply walked away from the parish one day without a word of explanation.

As a result, the Archdiocese of Detroit placed him on a leave of absence. Eventually, he served as a visiting minister at St. Francis Priory in Oceanside, CA, which was later renamed Prince of Peace Abbey. The sexual abuse of the first victim allegedly lasted from 1971 to 1972. Depp was asked to leave the Abbey for unknown reasons, and the abuse continued at other locations.

In 1982, Depp was convicted of similar crimes in Alaska, serving eight years in prison. This is when the Archdiocese of Detroit learned about Depp’s whereabouts and arrest. In 2003, Depp was charged again with over 40 counts of sexual abuse in California, but since the conduct occurred in the early 1970s, the charges had to be dropped.

In June 2019, the Archdiocese of Detroit released a list of credibly accused Michigan priests who were somehow connected to the diocese. This list included Harold Depp as having “left active ministry.”

Timeline

1959 – Ordained in the Archdiocese of Detroit

1959-1963 – Assigned to various parishes

1963 – Disappears from his assignment at Church of the Madonna

1971-1972 – Abused a young boy while staying at the Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, CA

1982 – Convicted and arrested for sexual abuse of a child in Alaska

2003 – Charged with criminal counts of sexual abuse in California, but the charges were dropped

2019 – Named in the Archdiocese of Detroit’s public list of credibly accused priests

Speak With an Attorney

If you have suffered due to clergy abuse in Michigan, the Injury Lawyer Team will stand by your side as you pursue a civil lawsuit. Together, we can hold the at-fault parties accountable while seeking fair compensation for your legal damages.

Sources

This page is based on public records, official Church and diocesan disclosures, legal filings, and survivor reports, including:

Bishop Accountability’s profile of Harold C. Depp
A press release from the Detroit News about Depp’s arrest
A statement from the Archdiocese of Detroit outlining Depp’s parish assignments
A press release from 10news.com detailing the criminal charges against Depp
A history of archbishops in Detroit
The list of credibly accused priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit

No criminal conviction is implied unless explicitly stated in public court records or official Church reports.

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