ERIE (PA)
Erie Times
January 20, 2019
By Ed Palattella and Madeleine O’Neill
Parishioners, others reveal shock, dismay in letters of support for Rev. David Poulson, sentenced to up to 14 years in state prison.
Faith was at the center of the Rev. David L. Poulson’s sentencing hearing for sexually abusing two boys while in ministry in the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
The judge told Poulson he “weaponized” the boys’ faith and abused his authority as a priest when he molested them.
Poulson, 65, said at his sentencing earlier in January that he prays for the victims every day and offers penance for his actions.
It was Poulson’s expressions of faith and reverence over his 39-year career as a cleric that made the crimes so shocking in the traditional Catholic communities he served in northwestern Pennsylvania.
A series of character letters submitted by the defense at the sentencing highlight Poulson’s double life — and the difficult questions the faithful must confront when a spiritual leader is revealed as a predator.
A prison sentence was the final step in Poulson’s fall from grace. He received two and a half to 14 years in state prison from Jefferson County Judge John H. Foradora at the sentencing on Jan. 11.
The defense filed the 19 character letters, sent by Poulson’s friends and former parishioners, with a sentencing memorandum that asked Foradora to issue a much shorter sentence. The Erie Times-News received a copy of the sentencing memorandum, which was filed publicly at the Jefferson County Courthouse, last week.
“We have been crushed by what has come to light since February,” wrote one former parishioner, who said Poulson baptized his children.
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