Former Bucks County priest sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of altar boys

LANSDALE (PA)
Bucks Local News

July 9, 2020

Doylestown – A former Catholic priest who served for 10 years at a Lower Bucks church has been sentenced to state prison for the sexual abuse of two altar boys.

Francis Trauger, 74, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty Wednesday, July 8 to two counts of indecent assault of a person under 13, admitting to one first-degree misdemeanor for each victim charged.

He had been accused of molesting two altar boys, one in the mid-1990s and another in the early 2000s. The abuse occurred while Trauger, known in the church community as “Father Frank”, was a priest at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Tullytown.

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Judge Jeffrey L. Finley sentenced Trauger to serve 18 to 36 months in state prison, a penalty in the aggravated range recommended by state sentencing guidelines, followed by seven years of probation.

“After evading justice for decades, this defendant is headed today to state prison for molesting two boys decades ago,” said District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub. “I hope the message to any other victims out there is clear: It is almost never too late to come forward to speak your truth.”

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