PHOENIX (AZ)
The Guardian
Monday November 21, 2005 9:16 PM
PHOENIX (AP) - The former vicar general of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was arrested Monday on charges he fondled boys and asked them questions about sex that he misrepresented as being part of confession.
Monsignor Dale Fushek becomes one of the highest-ranking priests to be charged in the sex scandal that has engulfed the church. The vicar general is the highest-ranking administrator of a diocese next to the bishop.
Fushek was charged with three counts of assault, five of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and two of indecent exposure.
Fushek ``used a relationship of trust to perform criminal acts, including but not limited to sexual activities, improper sexual discussions and physical contact, upon vulnerable minor and adult victims,'' prosecutors said in court papers.
Prosecutors said Fushek committed the acts between 1984 and 1994 at St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Mesa or on property belonging to the church. The alleged victims were seven young men and boys.