PENNSYLVANIA
WNEP
A priest admitted Wednesday he sexually assaulted a teenage boy. Now prosecutors are blasting him for abusing his position as a man of God and violating the boy's trust.
Father Albert Libertore told a judge he molested a teenager several times over three years. The victim, now 20, came forward last year, telling of the abuse in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties.
Father Libertore admitted he crossed the line in his relationship with that teenager. The punishment for that abuse is no jail time but a sentence of five years probation.
The priest, who served in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties is now considered a child molester. Court papers say the offenses began six years ago at Sacred Heart parish in Duryea, where Libertore met the then 14 year old altar boy and took the relationship too far.
The two slept in the same bed. The priest touched the boy and invited him to parties at the rectory where adults had gay sex. He supplied his victim with alcohol, expensive gifts and trips. The abuse continued at the University of Scranton, where Libertore taught, while the victim was a college student.
Posted by kshaw at May 18, 2005 05:03 PM