Sexual Abuse Charges Against Former Bronxville Priest Dismisse

By Zak Failla
Daily Voice
September 24, 2019

https://bit.ly/2mRwJfY

Charges against Rev. Thomas Kreiser were dismissed.

Charges of sexual abuse have reportedly been dropped against a former Westchester County priest who was charged with allegedly engaging in inappropriate behavior by a minor.

Rev. Thomas Kreiser, who was accused of abusing a 10-year-old girl while serving at St. Joseph’s parish in Bronxville had the charges dismissed, according to reports . Prosecutors stated that the dismissal comes because they couldn’t prove any wrongdoing beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kreiser was indicted in March, when a grand jury charged him with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintained his innocence since the allegations were made.

It was alleged that Kreiser engaged in touching his victim on an intimate part of her body while in a school building in Bronxville in the middle of the day. Officials said that the 10-year-old was fully clothed at the time of the incident.

At the time of the alleged incident, Kreiser was employed as a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of New York and was stationed at St. Joseph’s Parish in Bronxville, which includes both a church and elementary school. As part of his responsibilities, Kreiser was visiting the school at the time of the alleged abuse. Kreiser has since been removed from the parish by the Archdiocese.

Before joining St. Joseph, Kreiser worked at St. Patrick's Church in Yorktown, at St. Gregory Barbarigo Church in Garnerville, and as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Monroe.

While at St. Gregory from 2008 to 2010 Father Kreiser faced legal trouble connected with the theft of more than $25,000 from the parish for gambling and personal use. He was sentenced in 2011 to five years probation.