January 23, 2006

Retired priest charged in assaults

EL PASO (TX)
Sioux City Journal

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- A former South Dakota Catholic priest who recently settled an abuse lawsuit has been charged with sexually assaulting girls during the 1960s while he was a hospital chaplain in Wisconsin.

The Rev. Bruce Duncan MacArthur, 83, was taken into custody outside a church housing and recovery center in St. Louis on Friday.

MacArthur, who's retired, was charged with two counts of sexual intercourse of a child, four counts of indecent behavior with a child and one count of attempted indecent behavior with a child.

"Although he is elderly, we cannot hesitate to bring someone to justice for horrific crimes merely because he has been able to avoid prosecution for so many years," said Steven Bauer, District Attorney in Dodge County, Wis.

MacArthur admitted to sexually assaulting at least two girls while serving at Beaver Dam Community Hospital, then called St. Joseph Hospital, according to the criminal complaint.

Posted by kshaw at January 23, 2006 07:55 AM