WAUKESHA COUNTY (WI)
FOX 6 News
January 15, 2019
Father Charles “Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, the pastor facing a felony charge of sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age, is due in court Tuesday, Jan. 15. Father Chuck Hanel served at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Pewaukee. He’s accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old girl during confession.
According to the criminal complaint, the alleged crime in this case happened on Dec. 17, 2017. The alleged victim, who was 13 years old at the time, told authorities that while attending Reconciliation at Queen of Apostles, Father Hanel had inappropriate contact with her in a confessional. The girl told investigators that “she feels Fr. Hanel looks at her in a different way than the other girls…making her feel uncomfortable.”
The complaint indicates Father Hanel had been on a scheduled church sabbatical from January through April of this year. When hearing of the priest’s return to the parish, the alleged victim expressed outward anxiety. She eventually told her parents what had happened in December. She said “Father Hanel was ‘creepy’ and ‘weird'” — and “I want to go to a different church.”
The girl’s parents immediately informed a visiting priest at the parish about the accusations. That priest reported the matter to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department and Waukesha County’s Child Protective Services Unit.
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