CINCINNATI (OH)
CityBeat Cincinnati
April 27, 2021
By Allison Babka
Geoff Drew is charged with nine counts of rape. His alleged victim was just 10 years old at the time.
A Cincinnati-area priest accused of raping a 10-year-old boy will not stand trial until October, officials said Monday.
Geoff Drew originally was expected to go to trial Monday for nine counts of rape, but the trial was postponed to Oct. 25 after Drew’s attorneys requested more time to build their defense. If convicted, Drew faces life in prison.
In lieu of a $5 million bond, Drew remains at the Hamilton County Justice Center, where he’s been since his arrest in 2019. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment that year.
Drew is accused of raping an altar boy in his office while he was a music minister at St. Jude in Bridgetown. The accuser, who was 10 years old when those rapes allegedly started in 1988 and is now in his 40s, testified to a grand jury about the allegations, and Drew was indicted.
Drew was not a priest at the time of the alleged incidents, which his accuser says continued until 1991. He was ordained by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2004 and was last pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish. The Archdiocese suspended him July 23, 2019, after allegations arose that he had sent inappropriate text messages to a minor.
WXIX-TV’s Jennifer Edwards Baker reported in 2019 that Drew had been employed in a number of child-facing roles over the years:
Drew’s employment and assignment overview:
- Music Minister at St. Jude Parish: 1984-1999
- Music Teacher at Elder High School: 1988-1991
- Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West: 1999-2004
- Internship year at St. Anthony, Madisonville: 2001-2002
- Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese: May 2004
- Parochial Vicar at St. Luke, Beavercreek: July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005
- Pastor of St. Rita, Dayton: July 1, 2005 – June 20, 2009
- Port of St. Maximilian Kolbe , Liberty Township: July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2018
- Pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Cincinnati: appointed July 1, 2018
In a letter to St. Ignatius Loyola members, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr indicated that Drew was put on leave “because of reports that he had engaged in a pattern of ‘grooming’ behavior in violation of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Decree on Child Protection,” Baker reported in 2019. The incidents allegedly included bear hugs, suggestive comments, touching above the knee and shoulder massages.