Bayside bishop charged with sexually abusing pre-teen

Bishop Jesé Milagrosa, the leader of Our Lady of La Salette Church in Bayside (pictured above), has been charged with sexually abusing a constituent. Image via Google Maps.

By Jonathan Sperling

The spiritual leader of a small Bayside church has been accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old congregant over the course of three years.

Bishop Jesé Milagrosa, 69, the leader of Our Lady of La Salette Church on 204th Street, allegedly used his position in the church to engage in sexual acts with the boy between 2011 and 2014. The unidentified victim confronted Milagrosa regarding the abuse in 2018, and Milagrosa later admitted to detectives that he had oral and anal contact with the victim, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors charged Milagrosa with first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and first-, second- and third-degree criminal sexual act. He is being held on $250,000 bail and must return to court on Dec. 20. If convicted, the Milagrosa faces 10 years to life in prison.

The victim was an active member of Our Lady of La Salette Church when the abuse started on or about May 12, 2011, prosecutors say. The abuse allegedly continued on and off until April 16, 2014.

Our Lady of La Salette Church, a Catholic church founded in 2000, was profiled by The New York Times in 2007. The church holds a traditional Latin Mass at least six days a week, and many of the congregants are immigrants from South America, according to the Times.

“We felt obliged to construct a church where they would feel a connection to their Hispanic roots and Catholic traditions,” Milagrosa, who moved to Bayside from Venezuela in 1985, told the Times.

A spokesperson for the Brooklyn Diocese, which includes Queens, said Our Lady of LaSalette is not a Roman Catholic Church and is not part of the Brooklyn Diocese.

“While it mimics a lot of Catholic practices, it is not a Roman Catholic Parish, and it is not associated with the Diocese of Brooklyn,” the spokesperson said. “In fact the diocese has notified the faithful throughout the years that Our Lady of LaSalette is not in communion with the diocese or with the Holy Father.”

Milagrosa’s attorney Jeffrey Pittell said Milagrosa “is beloved by his congregation.”

“We deny these accusation and urge the media to avoid rushing to judgement and instead await the outcome of the judicial process,” Pittel said.

At least 30 survivors of sexual abuse across Queens have filed lawsuits against their alleged abusers under New York state’s Child Victims Act as of Dec. 2, according to the Office of Court Administration. The number of Queens cases trails the number of complaints filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

In Queens, plaintiffs have filed civil complaints against clergy members and churches in the Brooklyn Diocese, including priests at St. Margaret’s Church in Middle Village and St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows.

Additional reporting by David Brand