Youngstown Pastor Accused of Sexual Imposition

By Jordyn Grzelewski
The Vindicator
June 24, 2015

http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/jun/24/youngstown-pastor-faces-charge-of-sexual/

The pastor of a Youngstown church is accused of sexual imposition after an incident that purportedly took place in a restaurant restroom.

James Callozzo, 73, appeared in Mahoning County Area Court here Tuesday for arraignment on the misdemeanor charge. He entered a plea of not guilty.

An 18-year-old said Callozzo approached him May 15 in the restroom at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 804 Boardman-Poland Road, asked him questions about his genitals and then forcefully touched his genitals, according to a report filed May 30 with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.

The teen reported that after following him into the restroom, Callozzo repeatedly asked to see “down there.” He said Callozzo then grabbed his genital area and didn’t let go until the teen forced Callozzo off of him.

In the report, Callozzo’s employer is listed as Nativity of Christ Orthodox Church on Miller Road in Youngstown. Callozzo is pastor of the church, according to the church’s website. There, he is known as the Right Rev. Archim Andoni.

A church representative contacted by phone Tuesday refused to answer questions.

Callozzo was released on a $2,500 recognizance bond Tuesday. Court records indicate that he resides in Pittsburgh.

He is scheduled to be back in court July 28.

According to the church website, Callozzo is a longtime clergyman. It says he studied at a monastery, was ordained as a deacon and then as a priest in 1969 and began serving in the Greek Archdiocese in 1976.

He reportedly first came to the Youngstown area in 2011 to a Greek parish, and then became pastor at Nativity of Christ, a Russian Orthodox church, in 2012.