#USA #NY – The Diocese of Buffalo severed all financial support to a suspended priest and initiated steps to remove him from the clerical state after federal authorities charged him with receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), church officials announced this week.
Jeffrey Nowak, 46, of Lackawanna, faced arrest on July 8 following a federal raid on his home. Prosecutors said investigators linked him to online accounts used to access and share child sexual abuse material. Nowak, who had been on administrative leave since 2019, remained in federal custody as the case proceeded.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo described the allegations as particularly disturbing, noting that Nowak allegedly “hid behind a keyboard and took part in the tragic exploitation of one of society’s most vulnerable populations, our children.” DiGiacomo added that Nowak “has now been exposed and can no longer hide and will be held accountable for his disgraceful behavior.” The charges carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.
The Diocese of Buffalo acted swiftly in response. In a statement released around July 15, officials said Bishop Michael Fisher directed the diocese’s judicial vicar to compile documentation and petition the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for Nowak’s dismissal from the clerical state, a process commonly known as laicization.
“After learning of the abhorrent criminal conduct of which Jeffrey Nowak has been accused this month, the Diocese is no longer providing any financial support” to him, the statement read. Church leaders noted that canon law had previously required minimal sustenance payments to suspended priests, but the new federal charges changed that. The diocese had already placed Nowak on permanent leave in 2019 and barred him from functioning as a priest.
Nowak previously served as pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Cheektowaga. He was placed on administrative leave in August 2019 amid separate allegations of inappropriate contact with children and sexual harassment of a seminarian. An earlier FBI investigation into an email address linked to him closed without charges in 2023, but authorities reopened the case earlier this year after a tip from Scottish law enforcement involving a Telegram group sharing child exploitation material. Investigators identified the username “PigBoy666” as connected to Nowak.
During the July 8 search of Nowak’s residence, agents seized multiple electronic devices, a USB storage device, and suspected narcotics. Court documents indicated one device containing alleged child sexual abuse material was hidden inside a Bible case.
The developments came against the backdrop of the Diocese of Buffalo’s long-running efforts to address clergy sexual abuse claims. The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 amid hundreds of lawsuits and had implemented reforms, including independent review boards and cooperation with civil authorities.
As of mid-July 2026, Nowak had not entered a plea, and the federal case remained active. The diocese said it would continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement.
Image: Fr. Jeffrey Nowak, 46, of the Diocese of Buffalo.
