After twice announcing his refusal to appear for a deposition, Edwin Gaynor has been held in contempt of court and may be forcibly compelled to comply with a judge’s request, records show.
On Oct. 20, New York State Supreme Court Associate Justice Steven M. Jaeger ruled that Gaynor, 86, was in violation of court orders after the former catholic school teacher and coach declined to speak under oath about the litany of sexual assault claims that have been made against him.
“The court finds that Plaintiff has satisfied the elements necessary to establish contempt of court,” Jaeger wrote. “Gaynor has not set forth in his letters or statements any reasonable excuse for failing to appear before deposition.”
Since last November, 26 accusers have come forward with allegations that Gaynor used his position as a teacher and coach at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Scarsdale—as well as at other local parishes including St. Bernard’s in White Plains and Holy Rosary in Hawthorne—to molest underage male students beginning in 1959 and continuing through 1986. The lawsuits also name these schools, as well as the Archdiocese of New York, as co-defendants for their refusal to act on credible evidence of Gaynor’s misdeeds which allowed the pattern of alleged abuse to continue, unchecked, for decades.
In handwritten letters sent in 2019 to the law firm Lowey Dannenberg P.C.— which represents all but one of Gaynor’s accusers—Gaynor admitted to molesting two of the accusers by name. But attempts by the court to compel a deposition of Gaynor have been unsuccessful, however.
On June 25, the court ordered that Gaynor’s rescheduled deposition take place no later than Aug. 7. Court records show that Gaynor was subpoenaed on July 2 but he advised the agent who served him with a subpoena that he did not intend to comply with the order. Counsel for the plaintiffs received another letter from Gaynor on Aug. 5 that confirmed his refusal to be deposed, citing that his age and poor health prevented him from doing so.
Gaynor’s refusal to appear—either in person or remotely—prompted lawyers for the plaintiffs to petition the court for a contempt charge, as they requested that Gaynor be placed in police custody or confined until he completed his deposition. Despite ruling that Gaynor should be held in contempt, Jaeger declined to order that Gaynor be taken into custody, given the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Court is not now prepared on whether to impose a fine or commit Gaynor to jail until he agrees to comply,” he wrote. “Given Gaynor’s age, and his claimed physical ailments, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Court seeks further detailed information from Plaintiff as to how to satisfy the Court Plaintiff’s request for relief.”
Jaeger further ordered that counsel for both sides must consult with the Westchester County Sheriff’s office in order to ensure that Gaynor’s deposition can be safely implemented.
The ruling has given a deadline of Nov. 9 for such an agreement to be reached
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