Priest pleads guilty in child sex abuse case
- World
- AP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 17 October 2018
- Modified Date: 05:56 | 17 October 2018
A former priest in the Erie Diocese is admitting that he committed sexual abuse of children, pleading guilty to corruption of minors and child endangerment.
The Rev. David Lee Poulson pleaded guilty to the two felonies in a western Pennsylvania courthouse on Wednesday.
The 65-year-old from Oil City is one of two Roman Catholic priests to be charged as part of a grand jury investigation that concluded hundreds of clergy had sexually abused at least 1,000 children over seven decades in the state.
The other priest also is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to indecent assault this summer.
Prosecutors say Poulson abused an altar boy dozens of times in church rectories, and had him confess afterward. They say he also abused the boy and attempted to assault another boy at a hunting camp.