Priest Charged with Child Rape Says It ‘happened by Accident’

Associated Press
February 1, 2018

http://time.com/5128936/john-a-sarro-priest-molestation/

Delaware has for the first time brought criminal child molestation charges against a Catholic priest.

A grand jury on Monday indicted 76-year-old John A. Sarro in the rape of a child more than 25 years ago. He’s charged with first-degree unlawful sexual intercourse and second-degree unlawful sexual contact. He’s accused of having oral sex with a girl younger than 16 in the 1990s.

Sarro told The News Journal of Wilmington it was a “misunderstanding” that “happened by accident.”

Wilmington Diocese spokesman Robert Krebs says an “adult survivor” made the allegations in 2011, but wouldn’t give the church permission to go to police at the time.

Monday’s charges are unrelated to previous allegations which caused the diocese to identify Sarro as one of 20 priests accused of sexually abusing minors.