VENICE (FL)
WBBH - NBC 2 [Fort Myers FL]
April 28, 2024
By Jusolyn Flower
Michael Riley spoke with NBC2 Saturday evening regarding his older brother, Father Leo Riley – a Port Charlotte man who was arrested this week on multiple counts of capital sexual battery, with allegations connected to his previous tenure in the 1980s as a priest in Iowa.
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office detectives and Dubuque, Iowa police worked together to arrest Leo P. Riley, 68, at his Port Charlotte home.Advertisement
Five days after his arrest, a 32-year-old, only identified as John Doe, stepped out to publicly share that Leo Riley sexually abused him as a child. Dubuque police also report that four individuals came forward saying they were sexually abused by Riley as alter boys in the mid-80s.
However, Michael Riley told NBC2 that “some important facts have been missed.”
He said the sole reason for his brother relocating to Southwest Florida was because their parents retired there.
He referred to the charges as “mind-boggling.”
“My brother is innocent; he firmly believes he is innocent, and we are going to fight this ’til the end,” Michael Riley said.