Rape Allegations Surface for Jesuit Priest Accused of Inappropriate Conduct at Loyola, Boston College: SNAP Reacts

In what has become almost commonplace within Catholic Universities, Colleges, and even parishes, priests or religious invent groups designed to attract the vulnerable. It may at first seem innocent or nurturing for the individuals participating. However, history tells us that even the most prestigious institutions are no longer the minority when it comes to employing sexual perpetrators. Often, the so-called trusted servants are allowed full access to create their den of deceit and deviousness, with one intent, to groom and sexually assault an unsuspecting victim. 

We commend this brave victim, Tim Ballard, for sharing his story of abuse by a Jesuit priest, Rev. Ted Dziak. More importantly, we understand the desire of this survivor to ensure that his perpetrator and his actions are made public so that others who suffered at his hands may feel encouraged to come forward themselves and not feel alone.

It seems to us that this is a textbook case of an abuser seeking to isolate their victims, using drugs and alcohol to lower their resistance, and ultimately forcing themselves upon their prey. It is not hard to conceive that many young students who were sincere in their desire to better the world participated in volunteer missions across the globe. Unfortunately, it also appears to us that the one and only intention of the organizer was to assault them while they were alone and isolated.

So far, the Jesuits in the United States report the highest number of abusers among religious orders, acknowledging that over 300 US Jesuits abused thousands of boys and girls, a current proportion of one abuser to every seven Jesuits. What will we learn? How many young college students of adult age will be included in this growing list of victims? 

We here at SNAP want to know when Jesuit officials will disclose all that they know about these allegations. We want them to stop hiding Rev. Ted Dziak. Most importantly, we also want them to disclose the leaders within the order who chose to protect the abusive shepherd rather than to protect the sheep.

CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager (), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected]),

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)