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Western Pa. priest pleads guilty to sexual offenses against two boys

BROOKVILLE, Pa. — A Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting one boy and attempting to assault another pleaded guilty Wednesday morning.

Rev. David Lee Poulson, 65, of Oil City, was arrested in May. He pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

The victims were 8 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged offenses, according to a release by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.

“Poulson assaulted one of his victims in church rectories,” said Attorney General Shapiro, in a news conference following Poulson’s plea at the Jefferson County courthouse in Brookville. “He made that victim go to confession and confess the abuse – to Poulson. He used the tools of the priesthood to further his abuse. Today, Poulson is being held accountable and facing justice for his crimes.”

Poulson is one of two priests charged as a result of a statewide grand jury investigation that concluded about 300 priests had abused at least 1,000 children over seven decades.

"A number of years ago David Poulson acted inappropriately. By his plea of guilty today to two charges, he has accepted responsibility for those earlier transgressions," Poulson's attorney said in a statement to Channel 11.

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The report has roiled the Catholic Church and prompted calls for Pennsylvania state legislation to allow people to file civil lawsuits over child sexual abuse allegations that would otherwise be too old to pursue.

The other, the Rev. John Thomas Sweeney of the Greensburg Diocese, pleaded guilty to indecent assault this summer and awaits sentencing.

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According to investigators, Poulson sexually assaulted one victim in church rectories at St. Michael’s Catholic Church and Fryburg and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Cambridge Springs. The assaults happened on Sundays after the boy served as an altar boy.

The victim was also forced to make confession about the assaults to Poulson, according to the release.
The same victim was assaulted at a hunting cabin in Jefferson County, the release said. Poulson allegedly attempted to sexually assault another boy at that same cabin.

Poulson was assigned to various parishes in the Diocese of Erie including St. Agnes in Morrisdale, St. Michael’s in Fryburg, St. Anthony of Padua in Cambridge Springs, and St. Bernadette, also in Cambridge Springs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

Associated Press

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