Priest in Ohio Order Jailed after 1991 Sex Claim, NECN, November 16, 2012

Priest in Ohio Order Jailed after 1991 Sex Claim

NECN
November 16, 2012

http://www.necn.com/11/15/12/Priest-in-Ohio-based-order-faces-abuse-i/landing_nation.html?&apID=00f0c587f01a43d5a79d00632de78b01

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest accused of taking a 10-year-old boy to West Virginia for sex more than two decades ago was jailed on Thursday.

The Rev. Robert Poandl, of the Cincinnati-based Glenmary Home Missioners, was in Butler County Jail in southwest Ohio following an order by a federal magistrate judge that he be taken into custody.

Poandl voluntarily surrendered to the FBI after learning of the charge, Glenmary said in a statement. An indictment in Cincinnati federal court on Wednesday accused Poandl of taking the boy on Aug. 3, 1991, but didn't list specifics.

A statement from Glenmary Home Missioners, a society of priests and brothers who say they're dedicated to establishing a Catholic presence in rural areas and small towns, said the indictment is related to a June 2009 accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor in Spencer, W.Va.

The Glenmary statement also said that the religious order has until Dec. 19 to provide documents and other information pertaining to Poandl to the U.S. attorney's office under a subpoena issued for them.

In February, Glenmary said it had relieved Poandl of ministerial duties in three Georgia communities and asked him to return to the Glenmary residence in Cincinnati.

Poandl has been living under what the order calls "a safety plan" at the Cincinnati residence and has not been functioning as a priest, Glenmary's statement said.

Glenmary president Father Chet Artysiewicz said the order could not comment on the investigation.

"We have just learned of these charges today, and we are working to fully comply with the subpoena and cooperate with investigators," Artysiewicz said in a statement.

Poandl's attorney declined to comment.

In 2010, a judge in West Virginia dismissed charges that accused Poandl of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy while they visited a church there in 1991.