Details
of child sexual abuse that led to charges against a Roman Catholic
priest on Thursday were reported to his Pennsylvania diocese nearly five
years ago, court records show, but the church authorities did not
remove him as a pastor.
The
priest, the Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., was charged in federal court
in Johnstown, Pa., with possessing child pornography and engaging in
illicit sexual conduct on trips he made to a boys’ orphanage in Central
America. Father Maurizio visited the orphanage over a decade until 2009,
when a Virginia-based charity that runs the home uncovered accusations
of abuse by “Father Joe,” and passed them on to the Altoona-Johnstown
Diocese, according to a criminal complaint and the group.