FLORIDA
Naples Daily News
Ryan Mills
Mar 13, 2015
NAPLES, Fla. – A priest at an East Naples church is under investigation after an accuser came forward late last year claiming to have been sexually abused by him 30 years ago in an Iowa parish.
But the Rev. Leo Riley, who has been serving at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road since 2013, “strenuously denies that the allegation is true and maintains he is innocent,” according to a statement released by the Diocese of Venice. Both the Florida and Iowa dioceses say there have been no other such allegations against Riley.
Riley, 58, was placed on paid administrative leave on Dec. 14, pending a preliminary investigation by the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa. The alleged abuse was said to have taken place in 1985 when Riley was an associate pastor at a Dubuque parish.
“The Diocese of Venice in Florida and its entities take very seriously the safety of all young people, and works to prevent any instance of abuse from happening,” according to the prepared statement.
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