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	Former Windber Priest Charged with Having Sex with Inmate By Sandra K. Reabuck The Tribune Democrat August 14, 2007 http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_226164756.html Cresson — A priest allegedly had sexual relations with an inmate in a prison chapel, then handed over thousands of dollars in "hush money" when the inmate threatened to expose the illicit encounters. The Rev. Gerard Majella Connolly, who formerly served at a Windber church and now is an Altoona pastor, also is accused of furnishing alcohol to the prisoner at State Correctional Institution-Cresson while he was a chaplain there. Connolly, 66, has been arraigned before Cresson District Judge Charity Nileski on 12 felony counts of institutional sexual assault and five counts of taking contraband into the prison. The inmate – 36-year-old William Victor – has been charged with extorting $7,607 from Connolly. Victor has been moved to SCI-Huntingdon. State police Cpl. Jeffrey Dombrosky alleged that the sexual contact took place five times between Sept. 15, 2006 and Jan. 16. The inmate told police the incidents occurred during counseling sessions with the priest in the prison chapel. Victor said Connolly brought alcohol into the prison for him and that he had been drunk when the sexual contact took place. The inmate said the priest touched him with his hand in a sexual manner, according to a police affidavit. Connolly allegedly kept the alcohol hidden in his prison office. Three bottles of alcohol were recovered by prison officials and turned over to state police. Dombrosky said he and Cambria County District Attorney Patrick Kiniry interviewed Connolly on July 24 at Mount Carmel Church in Altoona, where the priest is assigned. After being advised of his rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present, the priest admitted to having sexual contact with the inmate and to taking alcohol into the prison, Dombrosky said. Authorities said Connolly turned over a typed document he had created after the inmate began extorting money from him. The document included dates and a brief description of what had occurred, police said. When Victor began demanding money and other items from the prison, he allegedly told Connolly that he had secretly tape-recorded one of the incidents and that the tape had been sent to a relative, who would turn it over to the media if Connolly did not provide money and other items. The priest showed copies of money orders he had sent to Victor and to the inmate's friends and relatives, police said. Connolly allegedly also took food and other items into the prison for Victor. The Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese issued a statement late Tuesday regarding Connolly's arrest. "Bishop Joseph (Adamec) and the diocese are deeply saddened to hear of the charges against Franciscan Father Gerard Connolly. Though a religious-order priest, he had been assigned by his Provincial to serve within the diocese in various capacities including prison ministry. "We pray for those affected in this matter – the alleged victim, Father Connolly and the Friars of the Immaculate Conception Province of Third Order Regular of Saint Francis." A Franciscan priest from a province headquartered in Minnesota, Connolly formerly served as parochial vicar and then as pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Windber in the 1980s. According to The Tribune-Democrat archives, Connolly's first Mass was celebrated in 1969. He was named an associate pastor at St. Anthony's in 1982, then became pastor in 1986. It could not be determined how long he remained at that church. Kiniry said in a release that the charges were filed after a months-long investigation by state police, the state Department of Corrections and the district attorney's office. Connolly was released on unsecured bond of $50,000. Victor remains at SCI-Huntingdon, where he is serving a previous sentence out of Monroe County, according to the Department of Corrections Web site. A preliminary hearing for both men is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 24 at Nileski's office.
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