Ex-Pa. priest accused of abusing 2 altar boys. Prosecutor urges other victims to come forward, ‘You will be heard.'

By Joe Brandt
NJ.com
September 3, 2019

https://bit.ly/2jXtqmp

Francis Trauger, 74, of Brooklyn, is charged with abusing two boys at St. Michael the Archangel parish in Tullytown.

A former Pennsylvania priest who last ministered across the Delaware River from Trenton was charged Tuesday with abusing two altar boys in the mid ’90s and early 2000s.

Francis Trauger, 74, was arraigned on counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub announced Tuesday.

Trauger, now of Brooklyn, New York, served at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Tullytown from 1993 to 2003. He assaulted the victims, who were both about 12 years old, as they donned their robes prior to serving Mass.

Trauger was named in a 2005 grand jury report detailing abuse allegations against several priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was transferred among parishes multiple times after allegations of abuse in the 1980s and 1990s, but could not be criminally charged in 2005 as the statute of limitations had expired on those cases.

He was laicized (removed from the priesthood) after the report was released.

In announcing the charges Tuesday, Weintraub also urged victims to come forward.

“This defendant abused his position of power to take advantage of these young men. They are very brave for coming forward now,” Weintraub said. “I say this to anyone else out there who was victimized by this predator: ‘Please come forward. You will be heard, and justice will be done.’”

He also “urges victims and potential witnesses to come forward without concern any statute of limitation or other barriers to prosecution.”

Anyone with information should contact Tullytown Police Sgt. Phil Kulan at 215-945-0999, ext. 225, or Bucks County Detective Lt. David Kemmerer at 215-348-6354.