Father Joseph James Rocha, O.P. (1940–2009)

Father Joseph Rocha was a religious-order priest — a Dominican friar — whose Rhode Island service, per the Diocese’s record, ran from 1971 to 1986: six years at St. Pius V Church in Providence, nine at the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal, and — concurrently with the Tribunal years — three at St. Raymond Church in Providence. He is named on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Religious Order Priests and is among the 72 clergy included in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report on the Diocese (Appendix A, p. 2).

What happened to Father Rocha?

According to the Diocese of Providence’s published list, his status reads, in full: “Left Diocese of Providence 6/2/1986; Removed from Ministry 1988 by Province of St. Joseph; Died 2009”. Where the Diocese prints year-only dates, the Attorney General’s records are more specific: they print “Left Order” as January 29, 1988, and his death as April 13, 2009 (Appendix A, p. 300). The two sources also describe the 1988 event differently — the Diocese as removal from ministry by the Province of St. Joseph, the Attorney General as Rocha having left the order, its records stating that he “decided not to return to the Dominican Order in 1988” (Appendix A, p. 300).

According to the Attorney General’s report, Rocha left the Diocese in 1986 after unsuccessfully seeking to become incardinated as a Diocesan priest, and his order granted him a period of “exclaustration,” or time away from the religious community, that year (Appendix A, p. 300). On the criminal case, Appendix A states: “In 2001, Father Rocha pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 21-year-old mentally disabled man at an assisted living facility in North Providence where he was working in 1999. He received a suspended sentence of 10 years in prison with 10 years of probation, along with a no contact order and was ordered to register as a sex offender” (Appendix A, p. 300). That case involved an adult victim. The report’s main body describes the same matter as Rocha having been “tried and convicted in 2001” (Report, p. 78), while a footnote elsewhere prints the conviction year as 1999 (Report, p. 91); each version is stated here as the Attorney General’s documents print it.

Separately, the report records that in 2012 a man reported to the Diocese that Rocha sexually assaulted him three times during the summer of 1982, when he was eight or nine years old, and that in 2019 an attorney reported that Rocha sexually assaulted his client when he was a minor, in 1981 or 1982, while Rocha was assigned to Bishop Hendricken High School (Appendix A, p. 300). The State Police closed the 2012 matter, and advised in 2019 that a criminal complaint could not be pursued, because Rocha was deceased (Appendix A, p. 301). The Appendix also notes that “the Diocese does not list Rocha’s assignment at Bishop Hendricken on his assignment history” (Appendix A, p. 300).

Where Father Rocha served: assignment history

The Diocese of Providence publishes the following assignment record:

Source: Diocese of Providence, individual clergy record, verified July 8, 2026. Overlapping year ranges appear as published. The Attorney General prints a fuller assignment history, including Dominican assignments in New York, Massachusetts, and Tennessee (1966–1971); Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick (1977–1982), which the Appendix notes is absent from the Diocese’s history; a 1977 entry as Pastoral Counsellor, Diocesan Tribunal; “Judge, Diocesan Marriage Tribunal” printed as 1980–1983, where the Diocese prints the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal as 1977–1986; and a 1982 St. Raymond Church residence entry (Appendix A, p. 300).

What the official lists say

The Diocese of Providence includes Joseph James Rocha, O.P., on its List of Credibly Accused Religious Order Priests – Deceased. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s report (March 4, 2026) includes Father Joseph Rocha among the 72 clergy “determined by the Attorney General to have been credibly accused of child sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Providence” (Appendix A, p. 2). He is one of the 75 names on the Diocese of Providence credibly accused list, explained.

The report’s summary of the allegations states: “Father Joseph Rocha was a religious order priest of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph assigned to parishes in the Diocese of Providence for nearly 15 years” (Appendix A, p. 300).

As the Attorney General’s report itself states, unless otherwise noted, the details in its Appendix A are allegations — not facts proven in a courtroom or admitted by the accused — and the individuals named are generally entitled to a presumption of innocence (Appendix A, p. 2). In Father Rocha’s case, the 2001 conviction described above — a guilty plea in a case involving an adult victim — is established by court record as the Attorney General’s report states it (Appendix A, p. 300; Report, p. 91). The childhood-abuse allegations reported in 2012 and 2019 never resulted in criminal charges; the State Police cited Rocha’s death (Appendix A, p. 301).

Religious-order priests: who a claim is brought against

Father Rocha belonged to the Dominican Province of St. Joseph while serving in Providence assignments. In cases involving order priests, which institution — the order, the diocese, or both — bears responsibility depends on who assigned, supervised, and knew what, when. That is a fact-specific question a Rhode Island attorney evaluates; the revival window’s June 30, 2028 deadline applies either way.

If you were at St. Pius V or St. Raymond in the 1970s–80s: the Rhode Island revival window

Rhode Island’s revival window allows civil claims for childhood sexual abuse regardless of how long ago it occurred, until June 30, 2028. His death in 2009 does not affect the right to bring a claim:

• How Rhode Island’s revival window works
• Can you still sue if the priest has died?
• The June 30, 2028 deadline
• Who can file a claim

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Joseph Rocha on the credibly accused list? Yes. Joseph James Rocha, O.P., appears on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Religious Order Priests (Deceased) and in Appendix A of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report.

Was Father Rocha ever convicted of a crime? Yes. According to the Attorney General’s report, he pled guilty in 2001 to sexually assaulting a 21-year-old mentally disabled man at a North Providence assisted living facility where he was working in 1999, and received a 10-year suspended sentence with 10 years of probation, a no-contact order, and sex-offender registration (Appendix A, p. 300). That case involved an adult victim. The childhood sexual abuse allegations reported to the Diocese in 2012 and 2019 did not result in criminal charges; the State Police cited his death (Appendix A, p. 301).

He was a Dominican, not a diocesan priest — does that change anything? It can change who a claim is brought against, not whether one can be brought. The revival window applies regardless.

He died in 2009 — can a claim still be filed? Yes. Under the revival window, claims may be filed until June 30, 2028. The Diocese’s list prints the year of death as 2009; the Attorney General’s records print April 13, 2009 (Appendix A, p. 300).

Confidential help

If something happened to you at one of these Providence parishes, you can speak with a Rhode Island attorney confidentially, at no cost and with no obligation. You don’t need records or proof in hand to have a conversation, and you don’t need to have told anyone before. Contact Marin & Murphy Law Firm confidentially.

Other credibly accused clergy who served at these parishes

The official assignment records above overlap with those of other clergy on the official lists — the same institution of record, at any period, which is not an assertion that they served there at the same time:

• Father John Aquinas Powers, O.P. — also served at St. Pius V Church, Providence

Related town records: see all verified Providence records.

Reporting resources

Anyone with information about abuse may contact the Rhode Island State Police Special Victims Unit at (401) 764-0142, the RI Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-RI-CHILD (1-800-742-4453), or the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office at (401) 274-4400.

Questions About These Records? Talk With Marin & Murphy — Confidentially

If the assignment history on this page overlaps with your own — a parish, a school, a set of years — and you want to understand what it may mean for a claim under Rhode Island’s revival window, our attorneys can review it with you. Marin & Murphy Law Firm is a Rhode Island law firm representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse under the revival window (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028). A conversation is free and confidential, nothing is filed and no one is contacted unless you decide, and there is no fee unless you recover. Call (401) 269-3381, or start with our Rhode Island clergy abuse lawyer page.

Corrections: we maintain a corrections policy for these pages, with a named contact and a 48-hour review commitment. If you believe anything on this page is inaccurate, please tell us.

Verification: every fact on this page is checked against both official sources — the Diocese of Providence’s published records and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report — with source conflicts stated, not silently resolved. See how this database is verified.

Sources: Diocese of Providence, List of Credibly Accused Clergy and individual clergy record (verified July 8, 2026); Rhode Island Attorney General, Report on the Diocese of Providence and Appendix A (March 4, 2026). Where the two official sources differ (the precision of the 1988 and 2009 dates; how the 1988 departure from the order is characterized; the scope of the assignment history, including Bishop Hendricken High School), both are stated with attribution. Information current as of July 8, 2026; official lists are working documents and may change.