PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
MAY 5, 2018
by Mark Scolforo, Associated Press
HARRISBURG — Two Franciscan friars who supervised a third friar who fatally stabbed himself in the heart while facing child-molestation allegations pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges Friday and were sentenced to five years of probation.
Proscecutors say Brother Robert J. D’Aversa, 71, of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, failed to tell officials at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown that he reassigned the friar, Brother Stephen Baker, in 2000 because of new credible allegations about Baker’s past.
They also say Brother Anthony J. Criscitelli, 64, of Hollidaysburg, knew a safety plan was in place for Baker, but still allowed him to potentially be around children.
Former Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane brought charges against the two, along with a priest, following a March 2016 Pennsylvania grand jury report accusing bishops of ignoring or hiding decades of sexual abuse by priests and religious leaders against hundreds of children in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.