A Catholic pastor who worked almost 20 years in Southwest Florida is now accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s.

The suspect at the center of the investigation is Rev. Nicholas McLoughlin.

He served as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Port Charlotte from 1982-2003 after his assignment as pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in Temple Terrace.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg, the organization leading the investigation, released this statement:

“An allegation of inappropriate physical contact with a minor has been made against Rev. Nicholas McLoughlin, a priest of the Diocese of Venice, who served as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Temple Terrace from 1973 to 1982. He previously served as associate pastor of St. John Vianney, St. Pete Beach and pastor of Bishop Barry and Notre Dame High Schools in St. Petersburg from June 1972 to August 1973.

The alleged incident took place during the 1970s while Father McLoughlin was assigned to Corpus Christi. The Diocese has notified the State Attorney’s office of the allegation. Also, parishioners of Corpus Christi Parish and St. John Vianney Parish received announcements of the allegation the weekend of November 3- 4, 2018.

Any parishioner who is aware of abuse is urged to report the crime to local law enforcement. Parishioners can also contact the diocesan Victim Assistance Minister at (866) 407-4505 for pastoral support.

We pray for victims whose lives have been wounded by abuse.”

In the mid-1990s, when McLoughlin was the head pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, his brother was accused of molesting two men when they were boys.

Father Edward McLoughlin, the suspect at the time, didn’t go to jail.

Church leaders internally handled the investigation. They gave Edward McLoughlin counseling and moved him to the Carribean.

We attempted to call Nicholas McLoughlin several times today. We are still working to get in touch with him.