Johnstown-area Priest Accused of Sex Tourism

By Torsten Ove
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 25, 2014

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/09/25/Johnstown-area-priest-held-on-child-pornography-charges/stories/201409250318

A Catholic priest from the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese traveled to Central America to have sex with boys while performing missionary work, said federal agents who arrested him Thursday.

The Rev. Joseph Maurizio, 69, appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Johnstown, where he was ordered held in custody pending a detention hearing Monday on charges of engaging in illicit sex in foreign countries and possession of child pornography.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which had been investigating Father Maurizio since February, raided Our Lady Queen of Angels chapel and rectory and Father Maurizio’s farm in Windber on Sept. 12 and seized computers, thumb drives, tapes and other media items.

According to an affidavit by Homeland Security Agent Molly Rock, agents found child pornography on a hard drive seized from the church rectory.

She said Father Maurizio had traveled regularly to Honduras from 1999 to 2009 to assist a nonprofit organization that provides services for at-risk children there.

During his travels, he engaged in “various and numerous sexual activities” with minors, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The sex charges pertain to acts from 2009. After that year, he didn't travel anywhere until July 2011, after which he traveled 10 times to various Central American nations that Homeland Security said are common destinations for child sex tourism.

The allegations against Father Maurizio surfaced in 2009 when a staff member at a residential center run by the nonprofit in Honduras reported hearing children arguing over whether they should report that “Father Joe” had solicited them for sexual activity.

The nonprofit investigated and heard the boys tell stories about Father Maurizio fondling them, taking pictures of them and, in at least one case, engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old boy in a chapel.

The chairwoman of the nonprofit traveled to Pennsylvania to confront Father Maurizio, according to the affidavit, but he denied the allegations and tried to persuade her not to report the allegations to the diocese.

The chairwoman told the diocese, according to the affidavit, and contacted the FBI and attorney general’s office.

Frustrated with the lack of action since 2009, the nonprofit reported the allegations on a website that tracks pedophile priests in December 2013.

Homeland Security began reviewing the FBI’s files on the case, and over the summer Agent Rock traveled to Honduras to interview the alleged victims. Her affidavit details numerous examples of Father Maurizio engaging in sexual activity with boys, including in the chapel; plying them with candy; offering them money for sex; and viewing homosexual pornography on a computer.

The diocese said in a statement that it was "profoundly disturbed" by the charges and said Father Maurizio was removed from his duties earlier this month.

The investigation into Father Maurizio’s activities is ongoing. Homeland Security asks anyone with information on the matter to call the agency's 24-hour tipline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or submit a tip at www.ice.gov/?tips/.

Torsten Ove: tove@post-gazette.com First Published September 25, 2014 3:18 PM