WICHITA (KS)
Associated Press [New York NY]
January 26, 2022
A Roman Catholic priest who was accused of sexual exploitation of a child will not be charged because the statute of limitations has ended, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Wednesday.
The Catholic Diocese of Wichita placed Rev. Michael Schemm on administrative leave last November after it received an allegation against him.
The allegations reportedly occurred between 1993 and 1996, when Schemm was assigned to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Wichita.
The child, who would have been between 12 and 15 at the time, would be 40 this year, Bennett said.
Under state law, the statute of limitations expired in 2009, when the alleged victim turned 28.
Bennett said his decision was a legal conclusion and and was making “no commentary or conclusions” on the allegations.