Black Collar Crime Round-Up: August 3, 2012
Michael Moynihan • Shawn Ratigan • Charles W. Savage II
To be retried: James Brennan, 48, Roman Catholic priest, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, whose child sexual-assault trial ended with a deadlocked jury one day before his superior and co-defendant, Monsignor William Lynn, was convicted on one count of child endangerment related to the cover-up of child sexual abuse of priests in his charge. According to a news release from the Philadelphia District Attorney, “The District Attorney’s Office will be retrying James Brennan for attempted rape and other related charges for the 1996 assault of a 14 year old boy. Brennan is due in court for a status hearing on August 14, 2012… ‘James Brennan used his position as a priest to prey upon and victimize this young man,’ said District Attorney Seth Williams. ‘It is extremely important that Brennan be held accountable for his crime, not just for his victim but for all victims of sexual abuse.’ Story: Conservative Babylon, March 22, 2012; Conservative Babylon, June 17, 2012; Conservative Babylon, June 21, 2012; Conservative Babylon, June 22, 2012. See also Andrew McCormick, below.
Charged: Gary Elg, 60, former pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Red Wing (est. 1849), Red Wing, Minnesota, with soliciting a prostitute (actually an undercover officer) for a nooner on July 25th. Elg subsequently quit the church after serving there for some 23 years. He is due in court September 10, 2012. Story: Post Bulletin, August 1, 2012
Guilty plea: Franklin A. Love, 39, former principal and athletic director (and alumnus), Berks Christian School (“a ministry of Exeter Bible Church … an educational institution whose purpose is the directing of the process of human development toward God’s objectives for man”), Birdsboro, Pennsylvania; former shift supervisor, Children’s Home of Reading; and almunus, Lancaster Bible College; to institutional sexual assault — i.e., sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female student at the school (which his own daughter also attended). The Reading Eagle reports: “The plea came after the district attorney’s office made a motion to revoke Love’s bail because he had been in contact with the victim and others involved in the case after he was arrested, which violated the conditions of his bail. After the plea, the district attorney’s office, with the agreement of the victim’s mother, withdrew the bail revocation motion. Love remains free to await sentencing.” Story: Conservative Babylon, May 8, 2012; Reading Eagle, July 31, 2012
Charged: Andrew McCormick, 56, Roman Catholic priest, Sacred Heart, Swedesburg, Pennsylvania; and previously of St. John Cantius Church, Philadelphia; St. Adalbert, Port Richmond, Pennsylvania; and St. Bede the Venerable, Holland, Pennsylvania; “with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corrupting the morals of a minor, indecent assault, and indecent exposure, for the sexual assault of a ten year old boy in 1997,” while “McCormick was a priest at St. John Cantius Church,” accordng to a news release from Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams. “After the incident happened, the defendant tried to ensure that the victim would not tell anyone about the abuse by telling the boy, ‘Masturbation is a sin, homosexuality is a sin, pre-marital sex is a sin and lying is a sin.’
“After years of silence, the victim contacted the police department’s Special Victims Unit in December of 2011 to report the crime. SVU along with the District Attorney’s Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit then began the investigation and McCormick was arrested … Thursday, July 26, 2012.” At his arraignment, “bail was set at $150,000. McCormick is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 17, 2012. The court took away his passport and he is not allowed contact with the victim, children or youth involved with the ministry, volunteer work or any charities. …
“‘I applaud the courage of this young man,’ said District Attorney Seth Williams. ‘He was able to do what, sadly, so many other victims of sexual abuse have not been able to do; come forward and tell the police. As we have learned over the years, it is extremely difficult for sexual abuse victims to admit that the assault happened, and then to actually report the abuse to authorities can be even harder for them. But with every new sexual assault arrest and conviction, like the historic conviction of Monsignor Lynn, we hope more victims will come forward.’ …
“If anyone has any more information on Andrew McCormick they are urged to contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251/3265 or the District Attorney’s Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit at 215-686-8080.” See also ConBab entries for Monsignor William Lynn: March 22, 2012; May 7, 2012; June 17, 2012; June 22, 2012; July 28, 2012. See also James Brennan, above.
Sentenced: Michael Moynihan, 59, Roman Catholic priest; former pastor, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Greenwich, Connecticut; “to five months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for obstructing a federal investigation concerning his use of more than $300,000 in church funds,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Moynihan also was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, and to pay $409,430 in restitution.” Moynihan squirreled away some $2 million in off-the-books bank accounts, some $300,000 of which he used to pay his own personal credit card bills. The USAO states: “In an effort to explain how he expended the funds from the undisclosed accounts, and to demonstrate that funds from the accounts were used for Parish-related purposes, Moynihan provided false and misleading information to accountants retained by the Diocese” i.e., he forged letters from two parishioners claiming the funds were spent on parish-related expenses. “On December 8, 2011, Moynihan pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. He has been ordered to report to prison on September 3, 2012.” Story: New York Post, January 22, 2007; U.S. Attorney’s Office, July 23, 2012; Timeline: Saint Michael the Archangel Parish Financial Review Chronology, Diocese of Bridgeport (undated)
Guilty plea: Shawn Ratigan (right in photo), 46, Roman Catholic priest, Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri; former parish pastor, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Kansas City, Missouri; and former chaplain, Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Eucharist, Independence, Missouri; to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with eight other charges dropped in the plea deal. The USAO reports: “By pleading guilty today, Ratigan admitted that he exploited five child victims to produce sexually explicit pictures of them. The victims ranged in age from two years old to 12 years old at the time of the offenses. The exploitation occurred at several locations — including a church choir loft — over a six-year period of time.” The USAO also notes: “He remains in federal custody; a sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.”
David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, stated: “When a sexual predator wears a collar, his crimes impact the entire community. This predator priest will now face tough mandatory penalties for his crimes” — for which,
Indicted again: Charles W. Savage II, 68, founder and former (1989-2009) pastor, Freedom Baptist Temple, Xenia, Ohio; former assistant pastor and principal, Pinecrest Baptist Church, Kilgore, Texas (both Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches); and alumnus, Baptist Bible College; on new charges of “11 sex crimes against teenagers that happened in the early 1990s … seven counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and four counts of third-degree corruption of a minor,” according to WHIO. Savage was previously indicted in 2010 and pleaded not guilty to two third-degree felony counts of “alleged sexual conduct with a member of his congregation in Adams County between the dates of October 1990 and October 1996, beginning when the alleged male victim was 14,” according to PeoplesDefender.com. WHIO reports that “the charges were dismissed because of lack of prosecution,” which usually means dismissal by the court when prosecutors fail to follow up on a case; usually, “the case is dismissed without prejudice so that the party can re-file the case”. Savage is (or was) married and the father of three children. Story: Kilgore News Herald (cached), September 22, 2010; Record-Herald, October 1, 2010; Xenia Daily Gazette, October 2, 2010; PeoplesDefender.com, October 6, 2010; WHIO (with video), July 31, 2012
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