A Catholic priest in Pennsylvania was just charged by police after he sent nude pics to a 17-year-old and forcibly hugged her with an erection.
Here’s what happened:
FOX NEWS – Pennsylvania authorities on Tuesday announced charges against a Roman Catholic priest who allegedly had “inappropriate sexual contact” with a teenage girl.
Kevin Lonergan, 30, was charged with one count each of corruption of minors and indecent assault, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced.
Lonergan, who as recently ordained in 2014, was not named in the recent Pennsylvania report about sexual abuse over the last 70 years. This is new.
Here’s what happened:
Lonergan first came in contact with the 17-year-old girl, identified as Jane Doe, “through his work as a priest,” Martin said.
The pair met in August 2017 prior to a mass held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to Martin. After meeting, someone else at the church gave him her phone number.
From December 2017 through January, the priest allegedly sent messages to the teen’s phone, Martin said.
“Many of these communications were sexual in nature and occurred via Snapchat,” Martin said. “During some of the electronic communications, it is alleged that Lonergan sent nude images of himself to the victim.”
Lonergan chose Snapchat because it is ‘erasable’, meaning that your images disappear after being seen by the viewer. Snapchat also informs the sender if the viewer tries to capture the pics with a screenshot.
It continues…
While at the same church on Feb. 1, the teen alleged that Lonergan hugged her and during this, she felt that he “had an erection,” Martin said. She tried to retreat from the embrace, but he allegedly wouldn’t let her.
“It is alleged that he continued to pull her towards him and then grabbed her buttocks over her clothing,” Martin said.
Thankfully the Bishop’s office acted quickly and responsibly, pulling the priest from public ministry and notifying authorities:
The girl told a priest at Central Catholic High School about Lonergan and, Martin said, that priest alerted the bishop’s office.
Upon hearing of the allegation in June, the diocese reported it to District Attorney Jim Martin’s office and removed Lonergan from his assignment, the diocese said in its statement. Lonergan is “forbidden from all priestly ministry pending the results of the investigation,” the diocese said.
Both Martin and the diocese said Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert wanted to immediately make public the diocese’s action but, on Martin’s request, waited for the criminal investigation to run its course.
“Bishop Schlert wanted to act very quickly and transparently,” Martin said.
This whole thing absolutely disgusts me. These predators have no business being priests and I am glad to see this one being purged from the church and arrested. That’s how it should be.
I also think that this is evidence that the church is responding very differently to these despicable predator priests after an era of shamefully looking the other way and condoning abuse. And for that I am very grateful, especially as a new Catholic – as this is what I expect our Bishops to do.