Attorney General Josh Shapiro says church leaders, including now-retired Erie Bishop Donald Trautman, sought to protect priests who sexually abused children.
Shapiro says multiple accusations against Father William Presley went back to the 1980s. While Trautman eventually notified the Vatican and removed Presley from ministry, the Diocese allegedly misled the media and law enforcement.
Shapiro also pointed to the case against David Poulson, who is awaiting trial, accused of abusing two Jefferson County boys; one for eight years.
Trautman released a statement saying, he maintains before God and the people he served for 22 years that he faithfully fulfilled the charter for the protection of children and young people and the laws of the Commonwealth on sex abuse.
The late Erie Bishop Alfred Watson, who is on the diocese’ public disclosure list as failing to act to stop abuse, is named in the grand jury report as well.
A priest who walked in on Father Michael Barletta and a naked boy told the grand jury he reported the incident to Watson and a monsignor. He said they brushed him off and told him to, “Go home, be a good priest.”
The grand jury also said it was not the church or law enforcement that brought these allegations to light.
“Sixteen years ago, the media – not law enforcement – exposed a significant cover up of clergy sex abuse. While that exposure represents a fraction of what we’ve found in Pennsylvania, the effect of the investigative reporting of the Boston Globe on this issue can’t be overstated. The newspaper’s articles created a national scandal that altered the atmosphere. Something the dioceses had long attempted to avoid was now a daily occurrence – a public call for transparency.”