The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating two Catholic priests in connection with the repeated rape of a boy over several years in the 1980s while they served as church leaders in Albuquerque and as Boy Scout leaders while on outings in “wilderness areas” of New Mexico.
Agents say Robert Malloy and Ronald Bruckner – former priests at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Albuquerque – sexually assaulted the boy from ages 9 through 11, beginning in 1984. Neither man has been charged in the crimes.
The allegations come nearly a month after the former Santa Fe priest Marvin Archuleta, 81, was charged with criminal sexual penetration and kidnapping in the rape of a 6-year-old boy as part of the AG’s Office investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests across the state.
Both Malloy and Bruckner are named in an ongoing lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and have been listed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe as “priests credibly accused of sexual abuse.”
Details of the priests’ alleged abuse came out after the AG’s Office searched the Catholic Center in Northwest Albuquerque on Thursday for records pertaining to alleged abuse by Bruckner and Malloy.
According to the search warrant affidavit filed in 2nd Judicial District Court, the victim sat down with the AG’s Office on Feb. 15 and told them the abuse began in 1984 when he was 9.
Agents say the victim attended elementary school at Our Lady of the Assumption and his family was actively involved in the church.
The victim told agents that at that time he was “repeatedly … penetrated” by Bruckner. Two years later, agents say, the same thing happened with Malloy.
According to the affidavit, Bruckner and Malloy continued to sexually assault the boy “multiple times over the next several years.”
The victim told agents the abuse occurred in a variety of places, including Our Lady of the Assumption church, Albuquerque hotel rooms, state parks and “various wilderness areas” – as Bruckner and Malloy acted as “Boy Scout leaders.”
Agents say the Boy Scouts of America destroys records “7 to 10 years” after an event or trip but the AG’s Office was able to confirm that Bruckner and Malloy were both priests at Our Lady of the Assumption during the alleged abuse.
The Journal was unable to reach Bruckner or Malloy for comment; it’s unclear where they are.
