By Dan Horn
Cincinnati Enquirer
August 30 2010
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100830/NEWS010702/8310321/Judge-throws-out-sex-charges-against-priest
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| Rev. Robert F. Poandl's trial was supposed to start Monday in Roane County, W.Va., but Circuit Judge David Nibert dismissed the charges late Friday. The ruling means Poandl cannot be prosecuted on the same charges again. |
A Catholic priest in Fairfield will not face a trial on child molestation charges this week after a judge dismissed the case and barred prosecutors from filing the charges again.
The sexual abuse and sexual assault charges against the Rev. Robert F. Poandl arose last year when a man claimed Poandl abused him in 1991 while the priest was working at a West Virginia church. The man said the abuse occurred when he was 10.
Poandl, a priest with the Glenmary Home Missioners, has been on administrative leave for more than a year and is living at the religious order's home in Fairfield.
Poandl's trial was supposed to start Monday in Roane County, W.Va., but Circuit Judge David Nibert dismissed the charges late Friday. The ruling means Poandl cannot be prosecuted on the same charges again.
Roane County prosecutor Josh Downey could not be reached.
Poandl's lawyer, Anita Harold Ashley, praised the dismissal in a statement on the Glenmary Home Missioners' website. "We're very pleased with the outcome," she said. "Justice was done."
A spokeswoman for the religious order said Poandl remains on administrative leave, which means he is not permitted to work as a priest, and no decision has been made yet on how the dismissal of the charges will affect his status.
Poandl has denied the abuse accusations and Glenmary officials have said no other allegations have been made against him in his more than 40 years as a priest.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a victims rights group that supported Poandl's accuser, urged prosecutors to appeal the judge's decision.
"We know this victim and family," said Judy Block Jones, an associate director with SNAP. "They are very credible and caring."
Contact: dhorn@enquirer.com
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