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18 with county ties listed in report

The Rev. James Armstrong, seen washing feet during a Mass in Butler County in 2003, was named in the grand jury report released Tuesday. He died in 2012.
Grand jury look at church abuse released

A grand jury report on sexual abuse in Pennsylvania Catholic organizations named more than 300 officials and priests accused of sexual crimes.

Of those 300, 18 men are tied to Butler County at some point in their careers.

The most recent any of the accused served in Butler County was 2007. However, several continued working for the church and one was serving as late as 2014.

Seven of the 18 are alive today: the Rev. John A. Genizer, Rev. Myles Eric Diskin, Rev. John P. Fitzgerald, Rev. Richard J. Dorsch, Rev. David Scharf, Rev. Rudolph M. Silvers and Rev. Paul G. Spisak.

Nine have died: the Rev. Charles Thomas, Rev. Charles R. Ginder, Rev. Lawrence O'Connell, Rev. George Parme, Rev. Paul E. Pindel, Rev. William P. O'Malley III, Rev. John W. Rebel, Rev. John P. Maloney and Rev. James L. Armstrong.

Investigators do not know the fate of the remaining two men named. They are the Rev. Bartley A. Sorenson and the Rev. Carl Roemele.

The full, 1,356-page report was released at 2 p.m. Tuesday along with a news conference by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“The report paints a complete picture of abuse and cover-up in every diocese in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.

Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has tried to prepare church-goers for the report's release in handouts at weekend Masses for the past two weeks.

Various officials with the church deferred to the Rev. Nicholas Vaskov when asked for comment. Vaskov, a communications worker for the diocese, issued a news release on behalf of Zubik. Zubik also gave a news conference in the aftermath of the report.

“We cannot bury our heads in the sand,” Zubik said.

Zubik's name crops up several times in the report as he received and dealt with complaints of sexual abuse.

“Ever since I met victims of child sexual abuse in 1988, I have seen the immense pain that this crime causes to its victims, to their loved ones and to the heart of Jesus,” Zubik said.

Of the living priests, Spisak worked in Butler most recently, serving from 1994 through 1997 at St. Andrew on North Main Street Extension.

In 1998, at his very next position in Cecil, parish staff found pornographic materials in Spisak's room, plus photographs of Spisak with boys about 15 years old showing their buttocks, the report states.

Spisak was arrested in 2006, after recording someone in a bathroom stall at South Hills Village Mall in Bethel Park. He admitted to the incident to police in 2016, the report reads.

Silvers worked at St. Peter Church on Franklin Street from 1986 through 1994. In 1988, an 18-year-old victim reported that Silvers had fondled him when he was between 12 and 15.

Other complaints are detailed in a diocese document called “Chronology of Reverend Rudolph Silvers,” according to the report. In 1990, for instance, that document states, a woman reported Silver's obsessive attachment to her son and said her complaints were ignored. Silvers resigned in 2002.

Scharf served at St. Michael the Archangel on Center Avenue from 1985 to 1987. In 2002, several boys and men complained about Scharf massaging their feet. Between 2005 and 2010, he admitted to masturbating to the image of minors' feet after massaging them.

Dorsch also served at St. Michael between 1983 and 1985. In 1994, a 13-year-old boy told his doctor that Dorsch had sexually assaulted him. Dorsch later admitted to various sexual assaults, and was convicted of indecent assault and corrupting the morals of a minor in 1995. One victim said Dorsch had tried to fondle him while swimming at Moraine State Park.

From 1977 through 1982, Fitzgerald served at St. Michael. A boy later accused Fitzgerald of exposing himself, making the boy perform a sex act and threatened to assault his sister and mother in the same way if he told anyone.

Genizer started his career at St. Paul on McKean Street between 1968 and 1973. Later in his career, he was accused of inappropriately touching children, the report said.

Diskin also started his career at St. Paul, between 1975 and 1979. Several victims have accused him of sexual abuse during the 1970s in church. The report also notes several civil lawsuits against Diskin that have been filed in Butler County.

Of those who have died, Armstrong served the most recently. He worked at St. Peter Church in Slippery Rock from 1999 through 2007, when he was placed on leave. He died in 2012.

He also worked in Butler at St. Paul in 1992 through 1999 and Holy Sepulcher from 1990 through 1991.

A file investigators found alleges that “Armstrong gave homeless boys from Pittsburgh drugs, alcohol, and money in exchange for sex.”

The Eagle published an obituary for Armstrong in 2012 praising the priest entitled “Former County Pastor Died, Man Impacted Residents.”

Maloney served at Holy Sepulcher in Butler from 1982 through 2004.

A male said Maloney would sometimes take photos of him in his underwear. Maloney denied the acts and was placed on leave in 2004.

The Eagle published an obituary for Maloney in 2007 entitled “Father Maloney Built a Substantial Legacy” after his death.

Rebel served at St. Killian in Mars from 1982 through 2001. It was reported to the diocese that Rebel molested a boy in the 1970s. Zubik told the boy's parents that the child might be mistaken and was actually thinking of a different priest.

O'Malley worked at St. Paul in Butler from 1982 to 1985.

In 1993, a man said O'Malley assaulted him when he was 22. In 1997, another reported the same had happened when they were 11 or 12. Of that second incident, O'Malley told an interviewer that it “probably happened” and that he was trying not to touch kids, the report states.

Pindel never worked in Butler County, but a victim said Pindel had touched him when he was between 13 and 15 in 1957 through 1960. Some of the abuse reportedly happened while swimming in Slippery Rock.

Thomas worked in Butler County twice, first from 1935 through 1937 at St. Kilian in Mars and then again in 1957 through 1965 at St. Paul in Butler.

A victim said he was assaulted by Thomas in 1958, and that a nun assisted in the assault. The diocese paid the victim $15,000 for counseling. Much of Thomas' file is redacted.

Parme worked in Butler in 1948 through 1952.

In 1954, a victim claimed, Parme touched a 13-year-old's genitals as he was dressing for Mass.

Parme's file is small, but the report claims that $1.25 million was paid to 31 plaintiffs related to his deeds.

O'Connell worked at Mater Dolorosa in Chicora from 1948 through 1952.

O'Connell has been the subject of various complaints by victims plus lawsuits and articles by Pittsburgh media in relation to sexual abuse.

Ginder worked at St. Gregory in Zelienople and St. Mathias in Evans City from 1940 through 1942.

An alleged victim of Ginder contacted the diocese for several years threatening to tell his story and wanting payment for counseling and medication.

The report mentions two payments, one of $4,092 and another of $16,000. Several other victims made claims of molestation by Ginder.

Sorenson, one of the two whose fate is unknown, worked at Mater Dolorosa and St. Joseph in Chicora between 1992 and 1999. When a woman accused him of looking at child pornography in 2011, he was placed on leave, arrested and eventually sentenced to 97 months of incarceration followed by five years of supervision. He's a registered sex offender. Authorities found more than 5,000 child porn images in his possession.

The other priest whose fate is unknown was last living in Butler County, investigators found. Roemele never served in Butler, but after years of allegations, clergy staff contacted him in 2009 to get his information for the district attorney.

“It was reported that Roemele seemed calm and lacked curiosity about the allegations presented to him,” the report notes.

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