PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PETER SMITH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
petersmith@post-gazette.com
MAY 8, 2017
Just over a year ago in a Hollidaysburg courtroom, Corey Leech took the stand and, in a poised and confident voice, testified in excruciating detail how a Franciscan friar began sexually abusing him from his early teens.
Mr. Leech gave voice to scores of victims of the late Stephen Baker in his testimony, which took place in the pretrial hearing of three Franciscan supervisors who face criminal charges for allegedly failing to protect children from the abusive friar.
Mr. Leech told of Baker abusing him on the athletic training table at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown. He spoke of the friar abusing him on car trips and at his monastery.
“He wanted to prevent other children from living his nightmare,” Mr. Leech’s family wrote in his obituary. “While he did more than his share to help others, it was too late for Corey. His nightmare was inescapable.”
Mr. Leech, 31, was found dead on Friday in his apartment in Richland Township near Johnstown in Cambria County. He had struggled with substance abuse, according to his obituary.
Mr. Leech’s family and supporters recall him as someone long concerned for child welfare. He was a nurse in a neo-natal intensive care unit in Johnstown, recalled for his gentle manner both with at-risk infants and their families.
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