WILMINGTON (DE)
The Dialog [Diocese of Wilmington DE]
March 17, 2025
By For The Dialog
A former priest and a former teacher of the Diocese of Wilmington have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse occurring between 1994 and 1996. John Taggart, 80, and Christopher Crisona, 57, are charged with several felonies following an investigation into a report of abuse by the Delaware Department of Justice. The investigation began when the Diocese of Wilmington received an anonymous complaint and reported it to law enforcement.
John Taggart was arrested in Georgia on Friday, March 14, 2025. Taggart was indicted by a Delaware grand jury on March 3rd on 10 counts pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor from the mid 1990’s while Taggart was a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle in Wilmington, DE. John Taggart resigned from priestly ministry in 2004 and moved out of state.
Additionally, Christopher Crisona of Orlando, Florida was also arrested and taken into custody after being indicted by a Delaware grand jury on March 3rd on 7 counts pertaining to sexual abuse of a minor during a similar time frame. In the mid-90s, Crisona was working as a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School. St. Thomas the Apostle School closed in 2008.
In keeping with policy, the Diocese of Wilmington has been and will continue to cooperate with the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.
Anyone who has experienced any form of abuse by clergy or any lay person working or volunteering in Catholic parishes or schools in Delaware or Maryland’s Eastern Shore are urged to contact the Delaware Department of Justice at (302) 577-5293 or ReportAbuse@delaware.gov or contact the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office for their county, to provide information to prosecutors and investigators.