The former Catholic priest who was linked by prosecutors to multiple sex abuse cases but was never convicted of a crime and went free for years has reportedly died.
James Brzyski, 66, who has been described as one of the most notorious serial abusers ever, was found dead in a Super 7 motel on Seminary Road in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday, the Inquirer reported. There were reportedly no signs of foul play in his death.
Brzyski is alleged to have sexually abused as many as 100 boys while a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to a 2005 grand jury report on sex abuse in the church put together by the Philadelphia DA’s office.
Brzyski allegedly admitted to the crimes but was placed in a church treatment facility before going on the lam across the nation.
The Inquirer reported that the statute of limitations expired before Brzyski could be prosecuted.
Inquirer and Daily News staff last approached Brzyski at an apartment complex in Dallas. He declined to comment, but he left the apartment on Sept. 1, booking a room at the Fort Worth motel for a month, where he would ulimately die two weeks later.
His alleged victims included John-Michael Delaney, 46, of Sevierville, Tennessee, who previously told Metro that by the age of 13, Brzyski was raping him and a dozen other boys at St. Cecilia’s Catholic School in Northeast Philly.
Delaney was identifed as “Sean” in the 2005 grand jury report.
“They transferred him without saying anything to the new parish. They sent him knowing he had been accused of molesting young boys,” Delaney told Metro in a recent interview where he called for Brzyski to face prosecution.
Delaney could not be reached for comment by Metro, but he told the Inquirer after hearing the news, “I’m going through a lot of emotions right now. … This man tortured me for years and years,” adding that he had been fighting to extend the statute of limitations so people like Brzyski could be prosecuted.
“I feel cheated,” he told the Inquirer. “I feel a little guilty.”
