Probe continues in priest's texts

By Melissa Klaric
Herald (SharPA)
February 18, 2018

http://www.sharonherald.com/news/probe-continues-in-priest-s-texts/article_ea68515a-1467-11e8-add2-235f9018cea0.html

A Pittsburgh law firm representing the Catholic Diocese of Erie uncovered more information in the case of a Kennedy Catholic priest accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a student, a diocese spokesman said on Friday.

Ann-Marie Welsh, director of communications for the diocese, confirmed on Friday that the law firm of K&L Gates LLC in Pittsburgh concluded that the information warranted further investigation by the state Attorney General’s office. She did not reveal further details.

”This is not just an internal investigation,” Welsh said of the law firm’s findings. “These are professionals who conduct independent investigations.”

Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of the Erie Diocese said the Rev. Sean Kerins has been removed from his assignments at Kennedy and at Church of the Good Shepherd Parish in West Middlesex pending completion of the investigation.

At Kennedy, Kerins taught a sophomore morality course and Christian social living to seniors. He is also prohibited from public ministry or having contact with minors.

Kerins, a 2009 Kennedy graduate who was ordained in June, allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to a student, according to a press release from the Erie Diocese.

”The details of one text message were determined to have been made in poor taste, but did not rise to the level of a crime,” Hermitage Police Chief Eric Jewell said after his department was called in by the law firm representing the diocese.

The law firm and school were fully cooperative with police, Jewell said.

When Hermitage detectives met at Kennedy on Jan. 22 with school officials and interviewed the now 18-year-old student, she recalled the details of one text message from Kerins, but no texts were recovered from the phone by police, Jewell said.

Detectives also learned that Kerins and the student had been communicating since December outside of school by text. However, neither Kerins nor the student live in Hermitage police department’s jurisdiction, the chief said.

Jewell did not say what was in the alleged text message exchange or what the new information is.

While Jewell said Hermitage police found that no crime occurred, the diocese states its preliminary investigation “determined that the series of text messages in question were inappropriate according to diocesan and school standards and in violation of diocesan policy.”

Welsh did not have immediate access to diocese policy regarding texting between students and teachers.

”Anytime there’s a concern in a school, absolutely, the diocese and the Catholic schools office would re-visit their policies to make sure we’re doing everything that we can possibly do,” Welsh said.