American Priest Accused of Child Sex Abuse Placed on Leave

Press TV
August 25, 2012

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/25/258031/sexoffender-priest-placed-on-leave/

An American priest allegedly involved in sexual abuse of minors several decades ago, has been placed on leave.

The offending priest Rev. George Koharchik, who is from western Pennsylvania, went on leave on Friday.

This is while according to the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Koharchik, pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Mount Union, a borough in Pennsylvania, is prevented from making contact with children while he is on leave.

He is also not allowed to function as a priest due to the sexual misconduct which allegedly occurred in the late 1970s.

The church has recently been notified of the accusations.

The development is the latest in a wave of allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests in the United States.

A Roman Catholic Monsignor, the highest-ranking US church official to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse claims, was sentenced to three to six years in prison on July 24.

The Philadelphia court handed down the sentence to William Lynn, who was found guilty of one count of child endangerment in connection to the US Roman Catholic Church scandal.

Monsignor Lynn, secretary of the archdiocese from 1994 to 2001 and tasked with investigating abuse claims, was found guilty of endangering the victim of Edward Avery, a former priest convicted in 1999 of sexual assault.