|
Father Joseph Maurizio found guilty on 5 of 8 counts
By Maria Miller
[with video] JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A jury reached a verdict Tuesday in the federal trial of Central City priest Father Joseph Maurizio. The five charges he was found guilty of include one count of international money laundering, one count of possession of pictures that exploit children and three counts of eliciting sexual misconduct with three different boys overseas. One of those boys recanted his initial story of being abused. Another count for that same boy though, Maurizio was found not guilty of. WJAC-TV was not able to speak with Maurizio’s defense team who somehow skipped past the media, but the former president of Pro Nino USA, the organization that helped fund and run the orphanage in Honduras that Maurizio was involved with, says Tuesday’s verdict validates everything. Her name is Elizabeth Williams. She said she was involved in the charity for 10 years, resigning in 2011 due to many reasons, one being the allegations that she said hurt the reputation of the organization She says it was her administration that brought the allegations to authorities in 2009. “This is a sad day. It’s a sad day when children are molested by someone they would trust,” Williams said. “It’s also a proud day. I’m proud of my government for stepping up; for sending a very strong and clear message that you can’t cross our borders and hurt children.” Williams said she brought the allegations to Maurizio himself, who she described as quiet throughout their conversation. She said she also brought them to the Catholic diocese six years ago. The diocese says their lack of handling this case, and others like it, will continue to impact the church’s moral credibility and financial sustainability. Maurizio will return to prison where he will await sentencing, primarily scheduled for February.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.