Office of the District Attorney (Seth Williams)
City of Philadelphia
26 September 2013
September 26, 2013: The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has charged the Rev. Robert L. Brennan with Rape, Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (IDSI), and Aggravated Indecent Assault. He is charged with sexually assaulting an altar boy at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Northeast Philadelphia between 1998 and 2001, beginning when the boy was 11 and continuing until he was 14 years old. Brennan, then 60 to 63 years old, was the assistant pastor at the church. Brennan is accused of digitally penetrating the boy’s anus, beginning when the victim was in 6th grade. He later began forcing the boy to perform oral sex on him. The assaults took place in the sacristy of the church, in the priest’s rectory bedroom, in a storage area on parish property, and in a movie theater. The abuse continued for three years.
Brennan, who now lives in Maryland, was arrested late on Wednesday, September 25th by Perryville Maryland police. He is currently being held in Cecil County and is expected to go before a judge there later today for an extradition hearing.
The victim reported Brennan’s abuse to the Archdiocese in January 2013, six months after a jury convicted Monsignor William Lynn of child endangerment for failing to supervise predatory priests. In accordance with its current policy of reporting all sexual abuse accusations to law enforcement, the Archdiocese immediately forwarded this victim’s allegations to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. The lengthy subsequent investigation resulted in Brennan’s arrest.
“A serial abuser is now behind bars thanks to the brave actions of this young man,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “It takes tremendous courage for any sexual assault victim to come forward and report the horrors he or she endured, particularly if it happened over the course of several years. The Archdiocese is also to be commended for immediately turning this case over to our office. I hope this arrest continues to send the message to sexual assault victims that we hear you, and we will bring the person to justice.”
The case of Robert Brennan presents another instance of abuse under the watch of Monsignor Lynn, secretary of clergy under Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua. The actions Lynn took to shield predator priests from exposure and prosecution led to the victimization of untold numbers of Philadelphia-area children. Brennan, who is now 75 years old, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His duties have been restricted since shortly after a Philadelphia grand jury documented numerous allegations of sexual misconduct with other children. In 2005, the Grand Jury found that during the tenure of Cardinal Bevilacqua the Archdiocese was notified that Brennan had sexually or inappropriately touched more than 20 boys, many from the schools of the parishes where he was assigned. Most of the complaints were based on the observations of Archdiocese employees–fellow priests, principals, and rectory workers. But the priest’s Archdiocese supervisors ignored these reports for over a decade.
Evidence of misconduct by Brennan dates back to at least 1990 and 1991, when the principal of St. Pius X High School and the principal of the parish school at St. Mary’s in Schwenksville raised concerns about Brennan’s improper behavior with numerous students. The officials removed him from St. Mary’s in 1992, only after the mother of a 7th grade altar boy complained that Brennan had touched her son inappropriately and forced him to sit on the priest’s lap.
Even then, Brennan was merely recycled to another assignment around unsuspecting children and parents. In December of 1993, Monsignor Lynn recommended that the accused priest be assigned to Resurrection of Our Lord Parish. Lynn did so even though doctors at St. John Vianney, the Archdiocese-owned hospital that evaluates and treats priests accused of sexual abuse, had warned him and others that Brennan exhibited evidence of pedophilia and “like anyone with a recurring problematic behavior pattern presents future risk.” Resurrection had a large parish school and in testimony before the Grand Jury, Bishop Edward Cullen, who served as Vicar General in the Archdiocese under Cardinal Bevilacqua, acknowledged that assigning Brennan to Resurrection and leaving him there, without restrictions, endangered the parish’s children.
According to the Grand Jury’s findings, Brennan continued to exhibit at Resurrection of Our Lord the same sexually abusive behavior toward adolescent boys that principals at St. Mary’s and St. Pius X had previously reported. Two years before the incidents with which Brennan is now charged, the pastor at Resurrection reported to Secretary for Clergy Lynn that the rectory staff had observed Brennan inappropriately touching and wrestling with several adolescent boys in the sacristy and the rectory. Still, Lynn did not recommend removing the priest from his position, and Brennan continued as assistant pastor at Resurrection. In that capacity, he met, supervised, and abused the victim who has now come forward.
Lynn never reported to law enforcement any of the many allegations he heard about Brennan. Some of Brennan’s victims testified before the Grand Jury; others have come forward since to describe how he molested and sexually assaulted them. Yet these victims were unable to press charges because the crimes fell outside the statute of limitations. Thus, with the assistance of Lynn and others in the Archdiocese, Brennan until today escaped prosecution for his decades-long sexual abuse of boys whom he encountered as a priest.
Despite the applicability of the endangerment statute to Lynn and other Archdiocese managers for this current victim, they are not being charged today because this victim’s age puts his allegations three months beyond the criminal statute of limitations for endangering the welfare of children. Only the sexual assault crimes by Brennan himself, which carry a longer statute of limitations, can still be prosecuted.
“I applaud this victim for courageously coming forward now, and I hope this arrest encourages others to do likewise,” continued District Attorney Williams. “This Office is committed to prosecuting sexual offenders, even if it takes their victims years to reveal their painful stories.”
____________________________
Priest faces charges after arrest
philly.com
Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer
Last updated: Thursday, September 26, 2013, 12:53 PM
Posted: Thursday, September 26, 2013, 10:51 AM
- Rev. Robert Brennan was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges.
- He has been accused by a man, now in his 20s, of sexually molesting him from ages 11 to 14.
- According to testimony, Brennan engaged in inappropriate behavior with more than 20 boys from 1988 to 2004.
Story Highlights
- Rev. Robert Brennan was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges.
- He has been accused by a man, now in his 20s, of sexually molesting him from ages 11 to 14.
- According to testimony, Brennan engaged in inappropriate behavior with more than 20 boys from 1988 to 2004.
A Catholic priest whose alleged sexual abuse of teen and preteen boys figured prominently in last year’s trial of a Philadelphia church official was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges.
The arrest of the 75-year-old Rev. Robert L. Brennan was announced at a news conference Thursday morning by District Attorney Seth Williams who related how the case evolved.
A a 26-year-old man – reportedly encouraged by last year’s trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic church official convicted for his supervisory role in covering up the conduct of pedophile priests – contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in January, Williams said.
That same day, Archdiocesan officials called his office and told prosecutors that the man alleged that Brennan sexually abused him between 1998 and 2001 when he was 11 to 14 years old and attending the Resurrection of Our Lord parish in the Northeast, the district attorney said.
Williams said Brennan was arrested late Wednesday at a private home in Perryville, Md., where he has lived for much of the last eight years.
Brennan was being held in Cecil County, Md., awaiting an extradition hearing before a local judge. When he is returned to Philadelphia, possibly later today, Williams said he will be charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault.
“A serial sexual abuser is now behind bars thanks to the brave actions of this young man,” Williams said.
Although Brennan was not charged as a result of the 2005 or 2011 county grand jury reports on clergy sex-abuse of children in Philadelphia archdiocese, his name and history became a large part last year’s trial of Monsignor Lynn.
Prosecutors introduced details of Brennan’s case to show that Lynn and other Archdiocesan officials had a long-standing practice of moving abusive priests to different parishes where they were then able to prey on a new group of children.
Lynn, 62, was found guilty of one count of child endangerment and is serving a three- to six-year prison term in the state prison at Waymart in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
According to trial testimony and documents, Brennan, who was ordained in 1964, engaged in inappropriate or suspicious behavior with more than 20 boys from 1988 to 2004 at parishes in Philadelphia and Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
Archdiocesan officials had Brennan undergo repeated psychological evaluations but transferred from one parish to another.
He was advised by Archdiocesan leaders to “keep a low profile” but he was not barred from contact with young people.
The late Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua testified before the grand jury that he considered Brennan’s problems “innocuous-sounding boundary issues.”
According to Assistant District Attorney Evangelia Manos, after Brennan’s name appeared in the 2005 grand jury report, he relocated to Maryland under church orders not to perform any canonical duties.
He remains an ordained priest although the church has begun the process that could result in his being defrocked, she said.
Brennan is not related to the Rev. James J. Brennan, who was tried with Lynn and faces retrial after the jury could not reach a verdict in his case.
jslobodzian@phillynews.com
215-854-2985 @joeslobo
A Catholic priest whose alleged sexual abuse of teen and preteen boys figured prominently in last year’s trial of a Philadelphia church official was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges.
The arrest of the 75-year-old Rev. Robert L. Brennan was announced at a news conference Thursday morning by District Attorney Seth Williams who related how the case evolved.
A a 26-year-old man – reportedly encouraged by last year’s trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic church official convicted for his supervisory role in covering up the conduct of pedophile priests – contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in January, Williams said.
That same day, Archdiocesan officials called his office and told prosecutors that the man alleged that Brennan sexually abused him between 1998 and 2001 when he was 11 to 14 years old and attending the Resurrection of Our Lord parish in the Northeast, the district attorney said.
Williams said Brennan was arrested late Wednesday at a private home in Perryville, Md., where he has lived for much of the last eight years.
Brennan was being held in Cecil County, Md., awaiting an extradition hearing before a local judge. When he is returned to Philadelphia, possibly later today, Williams said he will be charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault.
“A serial sexual abuser is now behind bars thanks to the brave actions of this young man,” Williams said.
Although Brennan was not charged as a result of the 2005 or 2011 county grand jury reports on clergy sex-abuse of children in Philadelphia archdiocese, his name and history became a large part last year’s trial of Monsignor Lynn.
Prosecutors introduced details of Brennan’s case to show that Lynn and other Archdiocesan officials had a long-standing practice of moving abusive priests to different parishes where they were then able to prey on a new group of children.
Lynn, 62, was found guilty of one count of child endangerment and is serving a three- to six-year prison term in the state prison at Waymart in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
According to trial testimony and documents, Brennan, who was ordained in 1964, engaged in inappropriate or suspicious behavior with more than 20 boys from 1988 to 2004 at parishes in Philadelphia and Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
Archdiocesan officials had Brennan undergo repeated psychological evaluations but transferred from one parish to another.
He was advised by Archdiocesan leaders to “keep a low profile” but he was not barred from contact with young people.
The late Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua testified before the grand jury that he considered Brennan’s problems “innocuous-sounding boundary issues.”
According to Assistant District Attorney Evangelia Manos, after Brennan’s name appeared in the 2005 grand jury report, he relocated to Maryland under church orders not to perform any canonical duties.
He remains an ordained priest although the church has begun the process that could result in his being defrocked, she said.
Brennan is not related to the Rev. James J. Brennan, who was tried with Lynn and faces retrial after the jury could not reach a verdict in his case.
215-854-2985 @joeslobo
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130927_Phila__priest_arrested_on_sex_abuse_charges.html#wzG0H0T7mK5uCUz7.99
A Catholic priest whose alleged sexual abuse of teen and preteen boys figured prominently in last year’s trial of a Philadelphia church official was arrested Thursday on sex-abuse charges.
The arrest of the 75-year-old Rev. Robert L. Brennan was announced at a news conference Thursday morning by District Attorney Seth Williams who related how the case evolved.
A a 26-year-old man – reportedly encouraged by last year’s trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic church official convicted for his supervisory role in covering up the conduct of pedophile priests – contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in January, Williams said.
That same day, Archdiocesan officials called his office and told prosecutors that the man alleged that Brennan sexually abused him between 1998 and 2001 when he was 11 to 14 years old and attending the Resurrection of Our Lord parish in the Northeast, the district attorney said.
Williams said Brennan was arrested late Wednesday at a private home in Perryville, Md., where he has lived for much of the last eight years.
Brennan was being held in Cecil County, Md., awaiting an extradition hearing before a local judge. When he is returned to Philadelphia, possibly later today, Williams said he will be charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault.
“A serial sexual abuser is now behind bars thanks to the brave actions of this young man,” Williams said.
Although Brennan was not charged as a result of the 2005 or 2011 county grand jury reports on clergy sex-abuse of children in Philadelphia archdiocese, his name and history became a large part last year’s trial of Monsignor Lynn.
Prosecutors introduced details of Brennan’s case to show that Lynn and other Archdiocesan officials had a long-standing practice of moving abusive priests to different parishes where they were then able to prey on a new group of children.
Lynn, 62, was found guilty of one count of child endangerment and is serving a three- to six-year prison term in the state prison at Waymart in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
According to trial testimony and documents, Brennan, who was ordained in 1964, engaged in inappropriate or suspicious behavior with more than 20 boys from 1988 to 2004 at parishes in Philadelphia and Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
Archdiocesan officials had Brennan undergo repeated psychological evaluations but transferred from one parish to another.
He was advised by Archdiocesan leaders to “keep a low profile” but he was not barred from contact with young people.
The late Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua testified before the grand jury that he considered Brennan’s problems “innocuous-sounding boundary issues.”
According to Assistant District Attorney Evangelia Manos, after Brennan’s name appeared in the 2005 grand jury report, he relocated to Maryland under church orders not to perform any canonical duties.
He remains an ordained priest although the church has begun the process that could result in his being defrocked, she said.
Brennan is not related to the Rev. James J. Brennan, who was tried with Lynn and faces retrial after the jury could not reach a verdict in his case.
215-854-2985 @joeslobo
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130927_Phila__priest_arrested_on_sex_abuse_charges.html#wzG0H0T7mK5uCUz7.99
The ad on the video clip in the second article is annoying – it just blasts on on it’s own. The ad comes with the clip so is beyond my control, but I did want to post the clip so you can catch the details. Once it’s covered the report
It is beyond heart-breaking to realize that that little boy would never have been abused had the archdiocese pulled Father Robert Brennan by the scruff of the neck and had him defrocked years ago.
Twenty reports of inappropriate behavior with boys – twenty!! – …..and still Church officials who knew deemed this creature fit to serve as a priest, hear confessions, offer up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, warrant the respect of naive and unwitting parishioners, and be a role model for trusting young boys.
Well done for that young man who found the courage to speak up. He’s only 26. Please keep him in your prayers.