January 15, 2005

No charges for ex-Ind. pastor

CROWN POINT (IN)
Chicago Sun-Times

January 15, 2005

BY JOHN GRANT EMEIGH

Criminal charges won't be pursued against a former Crown Point pastor, despite the Catholic priest's admission to church officials that he engaged in sexual activity with a Gary preteen sometime in the 1960s.

Lake County, Ind., Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter said that the accuser hasn't cooperated with investigators since the allegation came to light in 2003.

Monsignor Don Grass, who served as pastor at St. Mary Parish in Crown Point since 1983, was removed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary in December 2003 after admitting the accusation against him was true, diocese officials said. The alleged molestation occurred while Grass was assigned to the Cathedral of Holy Angels in Gary.

Carter said the diocese contacted him about the accusation in late 2003 and that the Gary Police Department investigated it.

Posted by kshaw at January 15, 2005 08:55 AM