BOCA RATON (FL)
Local10.com
August 15, 2018
By Tim Swift
Monsignor Thomas Benestad denies charges first alleged in 2011
A sweeping grand jury report on six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania released this week found that a retired Boca Raton priest was accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy in the early 1980s.
Monsignor Thomas Benestad, 73, is mentioned as one of 19 offenders from Allentown Diocese identified by the grand jury. Benestad has served in a limited capacity at Ascension Church in Boca Raton since 2007.
Released Tuesday, the report found that about 300 Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania molested more than 1,000 children since the 1940s. Senior Church officials are accused systematically covering up the complaints.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.