Priest charged with sexual abuse in Westmoreland

By Brian C. Rittmeyer
Tribune-Review
July 24, 2017

https://goo.gl/Z6Lnxc

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro will announce sexual abuse charges Monday against a priest in Westmoreland County.

The announcement will be made at 4 p.m. at Leechburg Road and Park Drive in Lower Burrell, which is near St. Margaret Mary Church.

The attorney general's office has yet to release the priest's name, and St. Margaret Mary was not identified in a media advisory issued Monday morning.

The charges stem from a broader investigation into sexual abuse by priests, the advisory states.

Joe Grace, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, would not answer questions, including about the identity of the priest or the location of the announcement and if St. Margaret Mary was involved.

“We'll have a lot more to say at the time of the press conference,” he said. “We'll lay everything out this afternoon.”

Jerry Zufelt, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, declined to comment Monday morning.

The diocese did not know about the news conference until it was announced, Zufelt said. The diocese will issue a statement later, he said.