A former state Legislature chaplain and elementary school teacher who ran for the Assembly last year has admitted to sexually abusing four underage boys while serving as rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Skaneateles.
Officials with the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York say J. Edward Putnam, 66, recently admitted in a written statement to the bishop that he engaged in "inappropriate conduct with minors" while at St. James', 96 E. Genesee St.
An investigation begun in May resulted in his being suspended last month from acting as a priest for 20 years. Diocese officials say Putnam, who was ordained in 1970, admitted to sexually abusing the boys from early 1985 to mid-1993. Prior to becoming a clergyman, he was an elementary school teacher in Hudson and Amherst, Mass.
Putnam spent 35 years as a clergyman. He served as chaplain to the Assembly from 1994 to 1996.
Last year, he ran unsuccessfully against Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, for the 124th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of Onondaga and Oswego counties, including Skaneateles, Oswego and Fulton. Putnam, who ran as a Democrat, received 44 percent of the vote against Barclay, the incumbent.
He had received endorsements from the Democratic Committees of Onondaga and Oswego Counties, the Working Families Party and the Veterans Party of Onondaga County.
"It's (running for office) not that big of a jump," Putnam had said in a July 2006 interview with the Skaneateles Journal. "It feels very familiar to me. As a parish priest, you know it's important (to bring) people with a diverse understanding of things together in order to get anything done."
At the time, Putnam said that he received positive feedback from people about having a former clergyman represent them, as it is a position associated with compassion and trustworthiness.
Putnam, who has three children, was ordained as an Episcopal deacon in June 1970 and as an Episcopal priest in December 1970. He was a minister in several parishes, including St. James' in Skaneateles, and was dean of cathedrals in Albany and Syracuse.
Putnam holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from State University College at Oneonta and a master's in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts. He is a former elementary school teacher.
He received his master of divinity from Yale University and was a fellow at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He also received his doctor of ministry from the Phillips Theological Seminary.
Putnam and his wife moved back to the area in 2004 after he retired from the parish ministry.
"It was really a homecoming for us," Putnam had said of the move. "Of all the (places) we've lived, the place our hearts (were) really settled was Skaneateles."
The phone at Putnam's Jordan Street home has been disconnected.
An investigation begun in May resulted in his being suspended last month from acting as a priest for 20 years. Diocese officials say Putnam, who was ordained in 1970, admitted to sexually abusing the boys from early 1985 to mid-1993. Prior to becoming a clergyman, he was an elementary school teacher in Hudson and Amherst, Mass.
Putnam spent 35 years as a clergyman. He served as chaplain to the Assembly from 1994 to 1996.
Last year, he ran unsuccessfully against Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, for the 124th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of Onondaga and Oswego counties, including Skaneateles, Oswego and Fulton. Putnam, who ran as a Democrat, received 44 percent of the vote against Barclay, the incumbent.
He had received endorsements from the Democratic Committees of Onondaga and Oswego Counties, the Working Families Party and the Veterans Party of Onondaga County.
"It's (running for office) not that big of a jump," Putnam had said in a July 2006 interview with the Skaneateles Journal. "It feels very familiar to me. As a parish priest, you know it's important (to bring) people with a diverse understanding of things together in order to get anything done."
At the time, Putnam said that he received positive feedback from people about having a former clergyman represent them, as it is a position associated with compassion and trustworthiness.
Putnam, who has three children, was ordained as an Episcopal deacon in June 1970 and as an Episcopal priest in December 1970. He was a minister in several parishes, including St. James' in Skaneateles, and was dean of cathedrals in Albany and Syracuse.
Putnam holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from State University College at Oneonta and a master's in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts. He is a former elementary school teacher.
He received his master of divinity from Yale University and was a fellow at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He also received his doctor of ministry from the Phillips Theological Seminary.
Putnam and his wife moved back to the area in 2004 after he retired from the parish ministry.
"It was really a homecoming for us," Putnam had said of the move. "Of all the (places) we've lived, the place our hearts (were) really settled was Skaneateles."
The phone at Putnam's Jordan Street home has been disconnected.
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