This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.

A Catholic priest accused of molestation of two altar boys at St. Margaret Mary’s Alacoque Church in Harrisburg was only recently arrested.

The clergyman—John A.–had reportedly served several additional parishes in Pennsylvania over his tenure as a priest, according to the Evening Sun. Among those Pennsylvania Catholic churches are parishes located in Gettysburg, Lebanon, Sellinsgrove, Steelton, New Cumberland, and Lancaster.

As indicated by the Evening Sun and the District Attorney’s Office of Dauphin County, the former Catholic priest accused of molestation is facing four counts of indecent assault, and two counts of corruption of minors.

John A.—who resides in York County—was officially removed from his position in the Catholic church in February 2006 and is now 75 years old. The defrocked Catholic priest accused of molestation, according to another report issued by Local 21 News, was named among 45 sexual abuse offenders of the Harrisburg diocese.

This list was released to the Pennsylvania Grand Jury investigating sexual assault by clergy in the Catholic churches of the state. All told, 300 clergy people with credible accusations of sexual abuse on their records were publicly named in August 2018.

Since the report was released, the two anonymous altar boys have come forward with accusations of sex abuse. The first victim indicates that he was repeatedly molested by John A. between the ages of 10 to 13 years old. The second victim claims a very similar scenario between ages 12 to 14. The combined timeline is 1997 to 2002.

The Harrisburg diocese claims that once they received a credible allegation of sexually abusive behavior on the part of John A., he was removed from the priesthood under Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

The diocese also claims that they released information regarding the priest and the allegations against him to police and the public at the time. They say that several agencies of law enforcement had been notified.

The Grand Jury Report

After the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was released last August with its list of 300 priests and former priests accused of molesting minors, investigators have been actively seeking to speak with those who are still alive.

Many of them have declined to publicly comment. At the same time, victims have come forward to tell their stories under the cover of anonymity.

In addition to John A., another defrocked priest named David L. was reported on in a separate article by the Evening Sun posted earlier this year. The Harrisburg diocese reportedly removed him from the priesthood in 1990. The allegations against him include rape of one boy and molestation of another.

Church records indicate that the diocese claimed they would cooperate if David L. was criminally charged. This reportedly never occurred, and his name failed to be added to pertinent lists of sexual offenders.

The removed priest reportedly found other work assisting highly-vulnerable mentally ill citizens in the Human Services Division of York County in 1994. Without criminal charges, he passed all background checks required to get and retain the position.

The former Catholic priest accused of molestation was suddenly terminated from his position as caseworker a month after the Grand Jury list was published. The County has been on the receiving end of a grievance charge for this allegedly involuntary employment separation and reportedly refuses to comment further.