A St. Xavier High School priest was fired after he was accused of soliciting a student for sex.
Father John Ferone was, until recently, St. Xavier’s Director of Adult Faith and Ignatian Programming. Officials with the school confirmed late Monday that Ferone was fired Feb. 23 after “an inappropriate communication” with a student.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said that Ferone was accused of soliciting sex from a student via a text message. Deters would not talk about what the message said specifically, but he said early indications are that it was inadvertently sent to the student.
“Based on what we know now, there’s not going to be any criminal charges,” Deters said. “If we need to follow up, we will.”
In a statement released on Monday, St. Xavier spokeswoman Becky Schulte said the school learned on Feb. 15 about Ferone’s communication with the student.
Ferone was immediately placed on leave, Schulte wrote, and the student’s parents were notified.
Schulte said the school also notified the Springfield Township Police Department and “presented them with all the information known to us,” though police officials told The Enquirer the department has no reports involving Ferone.
Deters said the incident was reported directly to his office but that there are no written reports.
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Cincinnati priest accused of soliciting St. Xavier student via text
FOX 19
(Photo: The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran)
A St. Xavier High School priest has been removed from the school faculty after he was accused of soliciting a student for sex.
According to our media partners at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Father John Ferone was, until recently, St. Xavier’s Director of Adult Faith and Ignatian Programming. Officials with the school said Ferone no longer works at St. Xavier.
Becky Schulte, Director of Communications and Marketing for St. Xavier, released the following statement:
On February 15, 2018, St. Xavier High School was made aware of an inappropriate communication between Fr. Ferone, a staff member at the school, and a student. In accordance with school policy, we took the following actions:
1) We immediately removed Fr. Ferone from all contact with students and placed him on administrative leave.
2) We notified the student’s parents.
3) We notified the Springfield Township Police Department and presented them with all information known to us.
At the conclusion of the school’s investigation, on February 23, Fr. Ferone was terminated from St. Xavier High School.
The safety of our students remains our highest priority.
But Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the priest was accused of soliciting sex from a student via a text message.
Deters would not talk about what the message said specifically, but he said early indications are that it was inadvertently sent to the student.
“Based on what we know now, there’s not going to be any criminal charges,” Deters said. “If we need to follow up, we will.”
Deters said that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati – which does not own St. Xavier but works with the school in many aspects – is conducting its own investigation into the matter. An Archdiocesan spokesman said it is actually the Chicago-based Jesuits who are conducting the investigation. St. Xavier is a Jesuit school.
It does not appear St. Xavier officials filed a police report regarding the incident. Deters said it was reported directly to his office and that there are no written reports.
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16-17 February 2018: Ignatian Retreat (directed by Father John Ferone sj)