PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC
By Maria Miller
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. —
6 News uncovered new details Monday in the case against a friar accused of sexually abusing students at Bishop McCort High School in the ’90s.
Brother Stephen Baker was found dead in his room at the St. Bernadine Monastery in Hollidaysburg, Blair County. Investigators ruled it a suicide.
On Monday, 6 News found out the reason why Baker was removed from Bishop McCort in 2000 in the first place. According to the Rev. Patrick Quinn, who’s a member of the Franciscan Order to which Baker belonged, an allegation against Baker surfaced in Minnesota. Once the order got wind of it, friars removed him from Bishop McCort.
Allegations involving McCort students didn’t surface until more than a decade later. In 2011, Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese said he immediately alerted authorities. Johnstown police said Monday they were made aware of two cases, but couldn’t take action.
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