Notre Dame announces investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by dorm hall priest

CNA Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 09:27 am (CNA).

The University of Notre Dame said this week that it had commissioned an external investigation into allegations that the head of a campus residence hall engaged in sexual misconduct years ago. 

The allegations concern Father Thomas King, CSC, who was rector of the school’s Zahm Hall dorm from 1980 to 1997. 

The school in a Sept. 24 press release did not reveal when and how it learned of the allegations against King, the details of which it did not provide. 

But it said it was commissioning a “special committee to oversee an external investigation” into the abuse claims. 

The inquiry will be led by lawyer Helen Cantwell at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. Cantwell is “highly experienced in this important and sensitive work,” the school said. 

“We are saddened that there are members of our community who may have suffered abuse while here and may not have received the support, care, and love they deserve,” the school said in the release, authored by university president Father Robert Dowd, CSC, and board of trustees chair John Veihmeyer. 

“Our hope is that this external investigation will provide those who may have been affected with the opportunity to be heard,” the statement said. 

School officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Thursday regarding King’s current status, including if he is still ministering in any capacity. 

Though it’s unclear how the university became aware of the allegations, at least one Notre Dame alumnus had spoken out about King’s alleged sexual misconduct ahead of the school’s announcement. 

David Tybor, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and a 1998 graduate of Notre Dame, said in a Facebook post earlier this month that he was “leading a group of Notre Dame guys who were hazed, harassed, raped, and assaulted” by King while at Zahm Hall.

“We’ve collected scores of stories and are curious to hear more,” Tybor wrote on Sept. 8. 

The professor also alleged that King was influential in a program for young men who wished to transfer from nearby Holy Cross College to Notre Dame. In another post he alleged that officials “knew about the abuse as early as 1995/96.”

Tybor did not immediately respond to a query on Sept. 25 regarding the allegations. In a comment on Sept. 19, however, he thanked “everyone who has contributed to this effort” to shine light on the alleged abuse. 

“Keep talking, justice is coming,” he wrote.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266763/notre-dame-announces-investigation-into-alleged-sexual-misconduct-by-dorm-hall-priest