VENICE (FL)
WWSB -ABC 7 [Sarasota FL]
July 15, 2024
By Bailey Striepling and Jordan Litwiller
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) – The criminal case against Father Leo Riley, the Charlotte County priest accused of sexual abuse, has been dismissed and will not go to trial.
Riley was facing five counts of sexual abuse, allegedly committed during his time as a priest in Iowa in the 1980s.
The judge’s decision came down to the statute of limitations – a law that limits the amount of time after an incident occurs that someone can be prosecuted.
In this case, Iowa law required charges to be brought by 1989 but because that didn’t happen until this year, Riley cannot legally be tried on these allegations.
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Riley cannot be tried again on these charges.
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