PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive
By Ivey DeJesus idejesus@pennlive.com
A Catholic priest from Westmoreland County has been criminally charged for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy.
The arrest on Monday of the Rev. John T. Sweeney, of Greensburg, marks the latest crackdown on clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania and is part of a broader ongoing investigation by the state Attorney General’s office into additional allegations of abuse by priest.
Sweeney was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a first-degree felony.
“Children are targeted by predators because they are vulnerable,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who announced the charges at the news conference in Lower Burrell Township, Westmoreland County, near the St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic School where, authorities say, the victim was a fourth grade student when the sexual assault took place during the 1991-92 school year. The school is in the Greensburg Diocese.
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