Homer, N.Y. — A teen girl and her mother have accused a priest in the Syracuse Catholic Diocese of having an inappropriate relationship with the girl since she was 14, according to court documents.
Rev. Nathan Brooks, 36, of LaFayette, has been charged with third-degree sex abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. The incidents happened between 2019 and 2021, authorities said.
On Tuesday, Brooks was arraigned in the Homer Town Court.
Court documents obtained by Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard Tuesday reveal new details in the case.
The girl, who recently turned 18, and her mother came forward to authorities after the girl saw Brooks interacting with others and became concerned that he was treating other girls the way he had treated her, according to a deposition the girl gave to the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office.
Brooks met the family when he became their priest in 2019, according to a deposition from the mother. The family would invite him to their home often, the mother told deputies.
At one time while Brooks and the girl were swimming together, the priest brushed a hand against the teen’s vagina in a noticeable way, the girl said in the deposition. Other times while they were swimming he would pull her toward him and have her on his lap, she told deputies.
Brooks would also constantly message the girl, despite her mother telling him not to and a diocese policy that prevents priests from contacting minors.
He would send “flirty” messages regarding a couple from the show “The Office,” the girl told deputies. He told her to delete the messages so her mother would not find out he was in contact with her, she said.
The girl also said that Brooks would give her “long hugs” that would last around 30 seconds. During one of those hugs, she felt his erect penis, she told deputies.
“We were way too close and I realize now that this was inappropriate,” the girl said in the disposition.
The girl said that Brooks also had…
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