Bishop Hendricken High School

Controversies

John Walderman, former principal

In 1986, Principal John Walderman was arrested for soliciting sex from an underage boy. The case was dismissed a year later. When it was discovered that Walderman had then been reassigned to another all-boys' high school in Harlem, New York, he became a notable figure in the sexual abuse scandal in the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

Timothy J. Sheldon, former vice principal

Former vice principal Timothy J. Sheldon pleaded no contest to one count of solicitation of sex to a child on Thursday, February 10, 2005. Sheldon, who had worked at the school for over 10 years, was charged with two counts of indecent solicitation of a minor, according to TurnTo10. He allegedly had a sexually explicit discussion in an online chat room with who Sheldon believed to be a 14-year-old boy. Sheldon was arrested on 17 December 2004. At age 39, Sheldon was sentenced to five years probation and was forced to surrender his state teaching certificate and was ordered to complete sex offender counseling. He is also not to be employed in any job involving contact with minors in the future and to not use the Internet.

John A. Jackson, former president

Jackson attracted criticism after writing a letter to the editor of The Providence Journal titled "Obama's immoral position on gay marriage". A Facebook group was created to protest Jackson's comments, attracting hundreds of students and alumni.

Joseph T. Brennan, Jr., former principal

Former principal Joseph "Jay" Brennan resigned from his position on January 17, 2018, after a video depicting him using racial profanity to refer to African Americans and followers of Judaism was anonymously sent to WPRI. The six-second video was secretly recorded in the office of the principal, which was then emailed to WPRI. WPRI reporter Walt Buteau published an article detailing the incident.

The video in question was also shown to the president of the Providence division of the NAACP, who called the language used "unacceptable." The public video has been edited to remove profanity. Two official statements have been made, one statement by Bishop Thomas Tobin, the other statement by then-school president John A. Jackson.

Wrongful termination suit

On June 13, 2018, David Marsocci, a former educator at the school, filed suit for wrongful termination. Marsocci alleged that another teacher used a school computer to seek sexual encounters, and when school administrators decided not to take action against that teacher, Marsocci started a website to blow the whistle on the teacher and administrators. School president John Jackson has said their investigation found the allegations were meritless, and claims that Marsocci fabricated evidence. The litigation remains pending in Kent County Superior Court, in Warwick, RI. Prior to the lawsuit, in 2017, the Department of Labor and Training ruled that the school did not have a policy covering the reason for termination, qualifying Marsocci to receive unemployment benefits.