SALINA (KS)
KSNW-TV, NBC-3 [Wichita KS]
July 23, 2026
By Payton Steiner
Editor’s note: This article and headline have been updated to clarify where the priest was serving.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Kansas priest was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child sex crimes, raising concerns about past victims and the justice system.
Ryan McCandless, 44, a priest with the Diocese of Salina, was taken into custody in Wichita on Wednesday night. He was wanted on a warrant for three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, McCandless is accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old child in Belleville between July and September 2025.
At the time, McCandless was serving at St. Edward in Belleville, St. George in Munden and St. Isidore in Cuba.
The arrest comes just one year after a former minister at Wichita’s Eastminster Presbyterian Church was alleged to have abused 23 minors in the late 1990s and early 2000s. McCandless’ arrest is drawing fire on how the Catholic Church is protecting minors and victims of sexual assault.
In a statement, the Diocese of Salina said McCandless “was immediately removed from all priestly ministry upon notice of the allegation,” adding, “we are devastated for all involved and ask for your prayers in this difficult time.”
When asked for additional comment, neither the Diocese nor the KBI could provide more information as this case is still under investigation.
The KBI did, however, point to its 2023 mass investigation, which found 188 instances of sexual abuse allegations against Kansas clergy in the last 50 years:
20230106-kbi-clergy-reportDownload
The report spurred new legislation at the time. One law eliminated the statute of limitations for sexual abuse crimes against children and raised the age for survivors to file civil cases from 21 years old to 31 years old.
Garden City representative and attorney Bob Lewis was a key driver in that legislation. He pushed for new clergy reform in the past legislative session.
“You name it, where there are children, that’s where the abusers typically gravitate,” he said. “I guess one question I have, I touched on, why is it continuing despite all of the public awareness now on the problem?”
One of his bills would have added clergy members to the list of mandatory reporters of sexual assault and another would have removed the ability for certain lawsuits to mandate non-disclosure agreements.
Both of those 2026 measures died in the Senate before they could be voted on. Lewis says he and his coalition plan to resurrect the bills in 2027’s legislative session.