Orthodox Priest Fined, Placed on Probation in Ohio after Misdemeanor Sex Offense Conviction

By Peter Smith
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
July 30, 2015

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/07/30/Orthodox-priest-fined-placed-on-probation-in-Ohio-after-misdemeanor-sex-offense-conviction/stories/201507300036

An Orthodox Christian priest living in Pittsburgh has been fined and placed on probation for his conviction on a misdemeanor sexual offense in Ohio, and he has been removed as pastor of a Youngstown parish.

James F. Callozzo, 73, of Brookline Boulevard was found guilty Tuesday of sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor, in Mahoning County Area Court in Boardman, Ohio. He was charged after an 18-year-old man told police that Father Callozzo followed him into a restaurant bathroom in Boardman, made sexually explicit comments and grabbed his private parts.

The court fined Father Callozzo $150, charged additional administrative costs and placed him on 12 months’ probation, according to a court clerk.

Father Callozzo has been permanently removed as pastor of Nativity of Christ Orthodox Church in Youngstown, according to Archpriest Roman Star, dean of the Central States for the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, part of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), to which the parish belongs.

Father Callozzo himself works under a different jurisdiction, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. A message left with the administrative office of that jurisdiction was not returned Wednesday afternoon, nor was a message left at a number listed for Father Callozzo in a church directory. Father Star said it was his understanding that Father Callozzo is under suspension by his bishop. Father Callozzo previously held positions in several other Orthodox Christian jurisdictions in various states.