PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 27
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – A northeastern Pennsylvania judge has dismissed charges against a priest accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with alcohol and touching her inappropriately after a midnight Christmas Mass in 1998.
The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1uPRgyh ) that Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse dismissed charges against the Rev. Philip Altavilla. The judge ruled Friday that the statute of limitations had expired.
Altavilla had been charged with indecent assault and corruption of minors.
The accuser testified in May that Altavilla rubbed her feet and thigh. Defense attorney Paul Walker questioned whether the touching constituted indecent contact and also argued that the statute of limitations had run out.
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