ALTOONA (PA)
Tribune-Democrat [Johnstown PA]
October 13, 2023
By Dave Sutor
A priest who was placed on leave by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona- Johnstown in 2017 due to a claim of abusing a minor being made against him was arrested on child pornography charges earlier this week.
The Rev. Anthony Petracca Jr., 67, from Allegheny Township, Blair County, faces 31 felony counts of possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility, according to a release sent out by the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.
Petracca as of Wednesday was unable to post bail that was set at $25,000.
“Make no mistake that possession of child pornography is an insidious form of child abuse that exploits and harms the children involved,” Henry said in the press release. “The defendant is accused of contributing to that exploitation and mistreatment of children. These are serious charges and we will do everything in our power to protect children and hold those who take advantage of them accountable for their crimes.”
The attorney general’s office provided details of the accusation: “In 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received and forwarded multiple tips regarding child exploitation to the Office of Attorney General. Further investigation linked the files to the defendant’s IP address and Verizon account information. A search of the defendant’s cloud storage account found multiple files of child pornography.”
Petracca was not mentioned in the 2016 grand jury report about decades of abuse and coverups within the Altoona-Johnstown diocese.
But in 2017, an allegation of abuse from the mid-1980s surfaced against him.
“Bishop (Mark) Bartchak placed Anthony Petracca on leave from public ministry in July of 2017,” according to a statement provided by the diocese. “He has not functioned as a priest since that time.”
Petracca is listed among accused priests at the diocese’s website, dioceseaj.org/accused-clergy.
He is under the category of priests who have been put on leave “as a result of receipt of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor” with the measure remaining “in effect until a final decision is reached concerning the allegation.”
Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5056. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.