Fr. Albert E. Kreher

Ordained: 1965
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Belleville IL

Diocese said it learned in 1997 of allegations that Kreher sexually abused a boy for one and a half years in the early 1980s, starting when the boy was age 14. Kreher admitted to regularly sleeping with the boy, but denied abuse. The boy, Steven Poole, said he told another priest in the early 1990s. Poole went on to become a priest of the diocese. Poole said Kreher slept naked, kissed, fondled, and rubbed his genitals against him. In 2010 Bishop Braxton made Kreher write Poole a letter of apology, but allowed Kreher to continue as head of Boy Scouts Council. The letter was leaked to media. The Boy Scouts removed Kreher in 2016. Police launched an investigation.


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