BishopAccountability.org
	Man Arrested for Allegedly Having Sex with Choir Student at Catholic Church Associated Press, carried in Mercury News The Mercury News June 30, 2007 http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6270119?nclick_check=1 Costa Mesa, Calif.—A music director who once had a position with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange was arrested for investigation of having sex with a 16-year-old choir student at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel 12 years ago, police said. Albert Lee Schildknecht, 56, of Laguna Niguel, was arrested Thursday at his workplace in Fountain Valley, said police Sgt. Marty Carver. He was free today on $100,000 bail. Last month, a woman who is now 28 years old told Orange County sheriff's investigators that she was 14 when she began having sexual relations with Schildknecht in 1995 and 1996, Carver said. Schildknecht, who is accused of oral copulation and digital penetration, resigned his position with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange on May 18, said diocesan spokesman Ryan Lilyengren. It wasn't known if Schlidknecht had faced any discipline at the time of the alleged incidents. Churches were not required to report such allegations to the diocese and law enforcement until 2002, he said. The diocese was made aware of the allegations early last month and followed the current protocol by notifying the sheriff's department, which has jurisdiction in Laguna Niguel. The diocese placed Schildknecht on administrative leave on May 16 and he resigned two days later, Lilyengren said. Diocese officials would not say what position Schildknecht held with the diocese, or where, before he resigned. Since 1995, Schildknecht has also worked at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, Corpus Cristi Catholic-Christian Community of Aliso Viejo and Mission San Juan Capistrano Basilica.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.