Diocese of Steubenville OH

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Terry McKiernan February 26, 2021

22 Accused in This Diocese

Fr. Elwood “Woody” Bernas

Ordained: 1984
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

First named as accused on the Steubenville diocese's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1986. In 2019 Bernas said he was on the list because had picked up a 17-year-old male prostitute, and that he paid a fine and went to treatment for sex addiction. Left the priesthood in 1989, moved to Minneapolis, MN to become a therapist. Organist at a Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and substitute organist at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Worked at Hazelton Center for chemically dependent men. In 2009 became organist at a Presbyterian Church in Bremerton WA. Worked at a treatment center outside of Seattle, WA for teens struggling with substance abuse; fired in 10/2019 after the center was informed of his past.

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Fr. Kenneth P. Bonadies

Ordained: 1966
Status: Settled

Died: 08/16/2021
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Ordained for the Diocese of Steubenville. Absent on leave for four years before assigned in 1980 to St. Bartholomew's in Manchester, CT. Retired in 2004. Settlement in the low six figures announced by attorney Garabedian in 5/2021 of claims that Bonadies sexually abused a boy, ages 14-17, 1981-1985 in CT. Bonadies was a teacher and director of theater and choir at East Catholic High School in Manchester during the time in question and the boy was a student. The abuse allegedly occurred at the school and in the St. Bartholomew parish rectory. Bonadies was reportedly removed from ministry in 2018. Name added to the Archdiocese of Hartford's list of credibly accused in 2/2021. Living in 5/2021 in FL. Included in 5/2021 on the Diocese of Norwich list, where he worked at some point. Died in 8/2021. By 12/2022 two more men had alleged abused by Bonadies, when they were Central Catholic High School students in Steubenville in the 1970s. A third man came forward in 5/2023 alleging abuse by Bonadies as a student the school.

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Fr. Robert A. Brown

Ordained: 1939
Status: Accused

Died: 10/7/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Accused in 2005 of abusing a boy during a rectory overnight in 1970. Brown allegedly gave alcohol to a group of boys and masturbated the boy as part of the abuse. Accused also of abusing three of the boy's cousins on other occasions. The Diocese announced in 2006 that it had received a credible allegation that Brown sexually abused a child 1976-1978, together with Mr. Paul Ditto, a lay volunteer. Retired in 1984. Died 10/7/1991. On the Steubenville diocese's list 10/31/2018. On Columbus diocese's list in 9/2019.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

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Fr. Vincent B. Danko

Ordained: 1959
Status: Accused

Died: 11/25/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

First named publicly as accused on the diocese's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1971. Died 11/25/1991.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

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Fr. Christopher Foxhoven

Ordained: 2004
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Pastor of Holy Cross and St. Mary of the Hill. Suspended in 10/2018 after admitting to "sexual contact with and abuse of a minor." Admitted to impregnating a 17-year-old girl, who was a Holy Cross altar server. Arrested, charged with eight counts of sexual battery. Prosecutor stated that Foxhoven had been grooming the girl for three years, and the sexual contact started in 8/2018. The baby was born in 6/2019. Foxhoven pleaded guilty. Sentenced in 11/2018 to twelve years in prison and required to register as a sex offender. On the diocese's list 10/31/2018. Appealed conviction in 4/2019, arguing that his sentence was excessive. Laicization announced in 6/2020. The victim filed suit in 3/2021. It was revealed that Foxhoven was suspended for a week in 2017 and ordered to counseling after a report that he had taken the girl to a wedding reception, where he was seen inappropriately touching her.

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Fr. Simeon Daniel Mulkern

Order: TOR
Ordained: 1966
Status: Indicted

Died: 08/4/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Named publicly in 4/2019 by Franciscan University of Steubenville as credibly accused, after the University's review of cases of unwanted sexual advances against students by clergy since the late 1960s. Mulkern died in 2016.

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Fr. Mark J. Froehlich

Ordained: 1969
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Named a monsignor in 1987, retired on 1/31/2014. Accused in 1/2018 of sexually abusing a girl in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Reportedly in 6/2018, the alleged victim had tried since her teens to report abuse by Froehlich, but was told by priests and others in the diocese that it was her fault. Froehlich denied the allegation. In a letter to parishioners at Mass on 5/27/2018, the Steubenville diocese announced that it had received credible allegations of sexual abuse by Froehlich and had removed him from active ministry. In addition to many parish assignments, he was a teacher and official at Guernsey Catholic Central HS in Cambridge 1972-1977 and a chancery official, including a stint as dean and long tenure as a Tribunal judge. He was also finance officer of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Barnesville and prominent in the Rotary Club. On 3/3/2023 the diocese announced that Froehlich's name was added to its list of accused.

Assignments:

Barnesville Enterprise 01.29.14

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Fr. Harold J. Goschke

Ordained: 1948
Status: Accused

Died: 01/5/1992
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

First named publicly as accused on the Steubenville Diocese's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1957. Per the Official Catholic Directory, Goschke was Absent on Leave from the Diocese of Steubenville after 1957, and by 1966 was working at parishes in the Diocese of Stockton, CA. He was in Stockton through 1976, after which the Directories show him as as a Steubenville priest Absent on Leave. He died 1/5/1992. Added to Stockton's list 11/12/2020, which notes he was chaplain at Deuel Vocational Institution 1962-1983. Included in 8/2021 on the Diocese of Fresno's list of credibly accused.

Assignments:

Diocese of Stockton Revised List 11.12.20

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Fr. Kenneth L. Harris

Ordained: 1940
Status: Accused

Died: 06/22/1964
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

First named publicly as accused on the Diocese of Steubenville's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1963. Per the 1943 Official Catholic Directory, Harris was a priest of the the Natchez MS diocese. By 1950 he was Absent On Leave from Natchez, in San Bernardino, CA, back in MS by 1951, then Absent on Leave again in the 1952 Directory. By 1953 he was still on leave from Natchez, in the Diocese of Steubenville. He died 6/22/1964. On the Jackson diocese's list 3/19/2019. It notes alleged abuse in 1951 in Steubenville, reported in 1998 and 2003.

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Fr. Michael D. Hellmer

Ordained: 1970
Status: Accused

Died: 08/11/1996
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Monsignor. First named publicly as accused on the diocese's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1989. Died in FL in 1996.

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Fr. John W. Holmes

Ordained: 1969
Status: Accused

Died: 10/3/2015
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

"Jack." First named publicly as accused by the Diocese on its list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1989. Died 10/3/2015.

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Fr. Robert F. Marrer

Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Died: 09/27/1996
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Accused in 1995 of the sexual abuse, including rape, of a 3- to 6-year-old girl in 1967-1970. Marrer took a leave of absence in 1971 and died in 1996. Included on the Steubenville diocese's list 10/31/2018.

Assignments:

BA.org Assignment Record

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Fr. Joseph A. Martinkosky

Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

First named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1991.

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Fr. Conrad McGuire

Order: TOR
Ordained: 1976
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Also called John. Named publicly as credibly accused by Franciscan University in 4/2019. "Friar John McGuire, formerly Father Conrad McGuire." Laicized in 1988.

Sources:

WTOV TV 04.12.19

Fr. John B. Nadzam

Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused

Died: 02/18/2005
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

The Diocese announced 4/2009 that it had received a substantiated allegation that Nadzam abused a minor in the 1970s. Civil authorities were notified. Nadzam was assigned to several parishes over the years and taught at Catholic Central High School. He was Absent on Leave 1974-1978 in the Diocese of Erie PA. He died in 2/2005. Included on the diocese's list 10/31/2018. Noted to have been suspended from ministry in 2004.

Assignments:

Assignment Record from SteubenvilleTruth.org

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Fr. Henry B. “Hugh” O’Donnell

Ordained: 1949
Status: Accused

Died: 11/21/1982
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Accused 12/8/2005 of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 1950 in Washington DC. The girl's mother allegedly discovered O'Donnell in the act of forcibly kissing her daughter as well as touching the girl's breasts and genitals beneath her clothes. O'Donnell was was diocesan secretary or chancellor at the time. The kissing was allegedly repeated by then-Msgr. O'Donnell when the girl was age 18, and he is accused of verbally abusing her at age 27 in a sexual manner. He was then Steubenville's vicar general. He died in 1982.

Assignments:

Detailed BA.org Assignment Record

Sources:

Hanes-Martinez Testimony 12.08.05

Fr. Carl Peltz

Ordained: 1977
Status: Settled

Died: 12/26/2015
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Ordained for the Diocese of Steubenville. Navy chaplain 1984-1987, including in Iceland in 1985, where Peltz allegedly forced a 12-year-old boy to drink whiskey, then raped him. Transferred many times. Federal suit filed in 1991 by the boy and his parents alleged the Steubenville diocese should have known that Peltz had a drinking problem, yet it certified him as fit for service. Suit settled by the diocese in 1993 for $25K. Although Peltz's obituary states that he was incardinated into the Kalamazoo diocese in 1990, the Official Catholic Directory indicates he was incardinated there in 2002. "Exonerated" in 2003 by the Kalamazoo diocesan review board, which cited it found no credible evidence. Died 12/26/2015. Included in the MI Attorney General's 5/22/2024 Kalamazoo report, which states he was invited in 1997 to work in Kalamazoo and was incardinated in 2000. Accused in 2008 of making improper advances toward a boy in about 1981 in Marietta, OH. In 2018 the son reportedly said he wasn't sexually molested but that he was "approached with that in mind." Peltz allegedly gave the boy alcohol and "drank heavily himself."

Assignments:

Assignment Record from SteubenvilleTruth.org accessed 8.14.11

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Fr. Walter J. Plimmer

Ordained: 1934
Status: Accused

Died: 09/16/1968
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Actor on Broadway prior to ordination. Indexed in the 1943 Official Catholic Directory as a U.S. Army chaplain and with the suffix s.s., indicating he was a priest of the Society of St. Sulpice. In 1944 Plimmer was assigned to a Diocese of Trenton parish. Assigned 1946-1947 to St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. By 1948 he is shown as a priest of the Diocese of Steubenville, apparently having left his order. He was as a College of Steubenville (run by the T.O.R. order) faculty member and public relations director. Plimmer was first named publicly as accused by the Diocese of Steubenville on its list 10/31/2018, noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1956. A 1959 news article states he was on leave from a Bohemia, NY parish. He died 9/16/1968 in Brooklyn, NY. Per his obituary, Plimmer resigned in 1959 from active parish work and did mission work in CA, AZ and NM. Included in 3/2021 on the Rockville Center diocese's list of accused, name misspelled "Plimner." It notes he wasn't assigned there and that abuse allegedly occurred in a private house, a motel, and on a boat.

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Fr. Francis J. Rothbauer

Ordained: 1966
Status: Sued

Died: 02/17/2011
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Removed from active ministry in 1988. A lawuit filed in 1989 claimed Rothbauer sexually abused a girl during counseling 1968-1972, starting when she was age 14. Bishop Mussio allegedly learned of the abuse in 1972 and transferred Rothbauer to another parish. Rothbauer died 2/17/2011 at age 83. Included on the diocese's list 10/31/2018. It notes that he was suspended from ministry in 1998.

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Fr. Samuel Tiesi

Order: TOR
Ordained: 1963
Status: Accused

Died: 06/12/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Named publicly as credibly accused by Franciscan University in 4/2019. Accused of the sexual abuse of young female college students. Died in 2001.

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Seminarian Joel A. Wright

Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Seminarian at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus OH. Arrested by federal agents in San Diego 1/29/2016 on charges related to seeking to travel to Tijuana, Mexico to adopt and have sex with multiple female infants. Per court documents, Wright tried to adopt a baby from Mexico in 2014. His mother told news media that at least 40 dioceses and religious orders rejected his applications prior to his admission to Pontifical College. The college dismissed him after his arrest. Pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court 2/25/2016. Pleaded guilty in a plea agreement 4/13/2016. Sentenced 7/1/2016 to 16 years in federal prison and lifetime supervision. On diocese's list 10/31/2018.

Assignments:

WTOV 02.04.16

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Fr. Gary Zalenski

Ordained: 1977
Status: Accused

Diocese: Diocese of Steubenville OH

Suspended 11/17/2007 after an allegation deemed credible that he sexually assaulted girl, age 9-11, 1989-1991 in Lore City, OH. She told her parents and church; he was transferred. Denied the allegations. Matter sent to the District Attorney and to Rome. In 10/2008 a Grand Jury did not indict, citing lack of probable cause. A second accuser came forward in 10/2008. Zalenski's attorney threatened to sue if she spoke publicly. She sued in 1/2009 for release of records. The OH Supreme Court ordered the 5th District Court of Appeals to release records 7/2010. Sent to three treatment centers. Laicized in 2014. Included on the diocese's list 10/31/2018.

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