ERIE (PA)
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: Stephen Jeselnick was ordained in 1977 for the Diocese of Erie. He briefly assisted at parishes in Oil City, Meadville, Jamestown and Greenville, after which there is a two-year gap in his assignments. By 1983 he was assisting in a Colorado Springs, CO, followed by another unexplained gap 1985-1986. During 1986-1987 Jeselnick was back in the Erie diocese, assigned to a DuBois parish. Thereafter, until his retirement in 2010, Jeselnick moved around as a military chaplain. He is not indexed in the Directories beyond 2015.
In 1991 a man reported to Bishop Trautman that 11 years previously, when he was a 20-year-old college student on home in PA for summer break, he had two “unwanted sexual encounters” with Jeselnick. The man said that his father was in failing health at the time and that he was vulnerable. In 2005 the man received a settlement on the condition that he keep the case quiet.
Jeselnick’s name was included on the Erie diocese’s list released April 6, 2018 of clergy, lay employees and volunteers with credible accusations against them of the sexual abuse of minors. He was noted to be living in Colorado Springs, CO, and “Forbidden to function as a priest.”
Ordained: 1977
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