CINCINNATI (OH)
The Catholic Telegraph
ARCHDIOCESE —Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters announced criminal indictments against Raymond Larger, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, on July 13. The six-count indictment against Larger is comprised of three counts that include sexual battery and gross sexual imposition on a minor and three counts of rape of the same minor during the years 1995-1997, while Larger was pastor of St. James Parish in White Oak.
The alleged victim was a student at St. James School during that period; he is now 21.
Larger, 54, was released on $25,000 bond and has been placed on administrative leave by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk effective July 13. Administrative leave is the strongest action that a diocesan bishop can take on his own authority. It means that a priest is not permitted to use the titles "Reverend" or "Father" to refer to himself as a priest, to administer the sacraments or to wear clerical garb. Further action by the archdiocese must await the outcome of the secular legal process.
A native of Sidney who was ordained in 1977, Larger was pastor at St. James for 11 years. He then was named pastor of Our Lady of Visitation Church in 2002 but resigned the pastorate in 2003 when he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of public indecency in a Dayton public park. Following a period of administrative leave, psychiatric evaluation and a year of legal probation, Larger was returned to active ministry in May 2004 with residence at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains. He has been involved with work on the Futures Implementation project of the archdiocese and has assisted at various parishes as needed on weekends.