|
Lansdale priest accused of touching man's genitals in locker room waives hearing
By Michael Goldberg
SKIPPACK — A Lansdale priest who allegedly admitted to detectives that he touched a man’s genitals without consent in a YMCA locker room in December is headed for trial in the case after waiving his preliminary hearing in district court.
John H. Roebuck, 64 — a parochial vicar at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Lansdale until December, when he was placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia — waived charges of second-degree misdemeanor indecent assault and summary harassment on Feb. 11 before District Judge Albert Augustine of Skippack.
Roebuck remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail, which was set by Augustine at his Jan. 17 preliminary arraignment, while awaiting formal arraignment in county court.
Roebuck turned himself in to authorities on Jan. 17, four days after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the alleged Dec. 15 incident.
Lansdale police said that an investigation began on Dec. 16 after the alleged victim in the case, an adult male, reported a locker room incident that purportedly took place around 7 p.m. the prior evening.
According to a criminal complaint filed in district court, the victim said that he went to the North Penn YMCA on the 600 block of East Main Street around 6 p.m. on Dec. 15 and lifted weights for approximately 40 minutes before taking a shower.
The man told police that while he was showering, another man who was later identified as Roebuck entered the showers and the man “felt as though Roebuck was staring at him and he felt uncomfortable,” according to the complaint.
The man put his bathing suit on, left the showers and went into the sauna, the complaint states, and Roebuck then went into the sauna about a minute later and introduced himself to the man as “John.”
The two men shook hands, at which point Roebuck pulled the man close to him, causing them to “bump shoulders,” according to the complaint.
After exiting the sauna just before 7 p.m., the victim went to a sink outside the sauna to wash his face when he saw Roebuck standing several feet behind him, and he began walking away from the sink area and told Roebuck, “See you later,” the complaint states.
At that point, the complaint states, Roebuck shook the man’s hand and again pulled the victim close to him, this time grabbing the man’s genitals with his other hand and asking, “Do you want to?”
The man said no and told Roebuck not to touch him, but Roebuck allegedly replied, “Since we are here alone, I thought maybe we could,” according to the complaint.
The man again said no, and then reported the incident to a YMCA employee at the front desk before leaving the building.
According to the complaint, the employee confronted Roebuck, who was still inside the facility, about the incident, but Roebuck “denied any improper conduct” with the victim.
The victim reported to police that he did not give consent for Roebuck to touch his genitals, the complaint states.
On Dec. 19, detectives interviewed Roebuck, and at that time he admitted that he was present at the YMCA on Dec. 15 and that he touched the victim’s genitals, according to the complaint.
In the hours after Roebuck’s arrest, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia issued a statement that described the allegations as “deeply troubling.”
Archdiocese spokesman Kenneth Gavin said that Roebuck was removed from all duties within the Archdiocese, and that the Archdiocese was “cooperating fully with the police investigation.”
According to CatholicPhilly.com, a website affiliated with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput assigned Roebuck to Saint Stanislaus from his previous position as a parochial vicar at Saint Thomas the Apostle in Glen Mills effective July 16, 2013.
Roebuck is scheduled to be formally arraigned in Montgomery County court on March 26. Contact: mgoldberg@thereporteronline.com
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.