Fr. Justin Paul Pechulis
Accused in a 2008 lawsuit in NC of abusing an altar boy in the late 1970s. The boy, age 15 or 16, was from Philadelphia, and said Fr. John McCole abused him there, then took him to Ashville, NC where Pechulis and McCole forced the boy to participate in group oral sex while a third man watched. The suit also alleged that Cardinal Krol was told of the abuse but dismissed the allegations saying “That’s just how men behave with each other.” The Charlotte diocese found the allegations credible in 2008. The suit was dismissed in 2010. Pechulis died 4/30/83. Included on the Charlotte diocese’s list 12/29/19. Added to the Raleigh diocese’s list in 3/21.
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