SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — A 32-page investigation by the law firm Ropes & Gray found Monsignor Joseph Reilly, President of Seton Hall University, failed to report a 2012 sexual abuse allegation to the university's Title IX office. The report, released on June 29, 2026, characterized this omission as an unintentional error due to a lack of training.

The Ropes & Gray investigation concluded that Reilly "acted promptly and substantively" after learning of the sexual abuse allegations in 2012. In September 2012, a seminarian informed Reilly that another seminarian had made unwanted sexual advances, including unwanted touching. Reilly and another seminary leader confronted the accused seminarian, whom Reilly immediately dismissed. The accused seminarian had been the subject of other concerns unrelated to this incident.

Reilly stated that he believed he had handled the matter correctly at the time. "While I addressed the matter appropriately in promptly dismissing the seminarian and reporting the incident to the archdiocese, I should have also communicated that incident to the university's Title IX office," Reilly said. He became president of Seton Hall University in 2024. Reilly formally acknowledged his reporting obligations in 2020. Since then, no compliance concerns have arisen.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, Archbishop of Newark and president of the Seton Hall Board of Regents, hired Ropes & Gray in February 2025 to investigate a previous report by Latham & Watkins. The Ropes & Gray report found that the Latham & Watkins investigation contained "no adverse factual findings regarding Monsignor Reilly" and referenced him only in passing. Cardinal Tobin stated he had no editorial input in the production of the Ropes & Gray report.

Why It Matters

This report addresses Monsignor Joseph Reilly's 2012 handling of a sexual abuse allegation at Seton Hall University, where he now serves as president. The investigation found that while his actions were prompt, the failure to inform the Title IX office was due to a lack of training regarding university reporting requirements prior to 2013. The findings provide details on how the university responded to such allegations during that period and how protocols have evolved since, with Reilly formally acknowledging his reporting obligations in 2020.