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	Priest in Franklin Removed after Sex Abuse Allegations By Angela Simoneaux The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) April 24, 1996 FRANKLIN - A priest at the Church of the Assumption has been released from his duties and sent to Virginia pending an investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct. Father John Bostwick returned to Richmond, Va., for the investigation, said Bishop Edward J. O'Donnell of the Diocese of Lafayette. The allegation was made by a man who alleges that the sexual impropriety occurred in Richmond in the early 1980s, the bishop added. "The person making the accusation has said that he has no reason to believe that any other person was abused," the bishop wrote in a letter to Assumption parishioners. "None of the incidents brought up occurred anywhere in the state of Louisiana. "There have been no allegations of impropriety lodged against Father Bostwick in the Diocese of Lafayette and we have no reason to believe that any abuse took place here. " O'Donnell said he sent the letter, which explains the situation in detail, to every parishioner of the church. The letter also was read at each Mass at the church last weekend, and the bishop met with parishioners in a special meeting Sunday afternoon to discuss their concerns, he said. "I met with the people, and I gave a copy of the letter to anyone who wanted it," O'Donnell said Tuesday. The letter explains that Bostwick arrived in Louisiana in 1992, about 10 years after the alleged incident in Virginia. There have been no complaints against him here, O'Donnell said.
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