East Naples priest Leo Riley reinstated after abuse investigation

By Ryan Mills
Naples Daily News
July 22, 2015

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local-news/east-naples-priest-leo-riley-reinstated-after-abuse-investigation_33902723

NAPLES, Fla. - An East Naples priest who placed on leave earlier this year while the church conducted an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against him has been reinstated after the church cleared him recently of wrongdoing.

Diocese of Venice Bishop Frank Dewane reinstated Rev. Leo Riley on the advice of a review board, said Bob Reddy, a diocese spokesman. Before the investigation, Riley, 60, had served at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road since 2013.

“Father Riley asked for a leave of absence. He’s going to take some time off to reflect on what he wants to do next, what he wants to do as a priest,” Reddy said. “He may come back at St. Peters. He may come back somewhere else. He just wanted some time off to get over the trauma of the situation.”

The church launched its investigation after a man came forward in December claiming to have been sexually abused by Riley 30 years ago in an Iowa parish. Jeff Buchheit, 39, told Iowa media earlier this year that he was abused by Riley in 1985, when he was an altar boy at Resurrection School in Dubuque.

The church launched its investigation, hiring a private investigators — a former FBI agent — to interview Riley, Buchheit and others. Riley, who denied the allegations from the start, submitted to a polygraph examination last month, his attorney said.