BERKELEY (CA)
Berkeley Daily Planet
By MATTHEW ARTZ
Father George Crespin abruptly retired from his post as pastor of Berkeley’s St. Joseph The Worker parish last week amid an accusation that he sexually abused a parishioner 30 years ago.
In a letter read by priests to parishoners Sunday, Crespin denied the charge and questioned the motives of his accuser.
“Since I know the person making this accusation, I am firmly convinced that this is being done to get money from the church,” he wrote.
Crespin was out of town for an uncle’s funeral and could not be reached for comment.
The Diocese of Oakland, which includes Berkeley, refused to disclose the accuser’s gender or specifics about the allegations other than that they were sexual in nature. Diocese officials were also unable to answer which church Crespin was assigned to when the alleged misconduct occurred. Crespin joined St. Joseph’s in 1980, six years after the alleged incident.
Posted by kshaw at February 8, 2005 06:15 PM