PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC
LOWER BURRELL, Pa. — Attorney General Josh Shapiro Monday announced criminal charges against a Catholic priest in Westmoreland County for a sexual assault committed against a 10-year-old boy.
The Rev. John T. Sweeney, of Greensburg, was arrested this afternoon and charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a first-degree felony.
The charge against Sweeney was recommended by a Pennsylvania statewide investigating grand jury conducting a broader investigation of sexual abuse by priests, under the supervision of the Office of Attorney General.
Attorney General Shapiro announced Sweeney’s arrest at a news conference in Lower Burrell Township, Westmoreland County, near the St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic School where the victim was a fourth grade student when the sexual assault took place during the 1991-92 school year.
“Children are targeted by predators because they are vulnerable,” Attorney General Shapiro said at the news conference. “It often takes victims of child sexual abuse years or decades to come forward, because they struggle with shame, confusion or fear.
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