PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Nov. 19, 2019
By Vinny Vella
A defrocked priest from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will head to court next month, accused of fondling two altar boys at a Bucks County church more than 20 years ago.
Francis Trauger, 74, faces charges of indecent assault and corruption of minors for allegedly fondling two preteen altar boys at St. Michael the Archangel parish in Tullytown, his last assignment before being defrocked in 2005. The incidents took place in the late ’90s and early 2000s, according to investigators.
During a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, District Judge Robert L. Wagner Jr. held Trauger’s case for trial on all charges. Wagner rejected a motion from Trauger’s attorney, Brian McVan, that the prosecution is improper and violates federal law.
McVan acknowledged that filing charges against Trauger was permissible under state law because of recent extensions to the statute of limitations, but said federal courts have ruled that judges should apply the law that was in place at the time of the alleged crimes.
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.