Crime & Safety
Former Altar Boys Sue Pittsburgh Diocese, Claim Sexual Abuse
Two men claim they were repeatedly molested by a diocesan priest in the 1980s.
PITTSBURGH, PA - Two men who were altar boys at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in McDonald, Washington County, filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging a priest at the church sexually abused them in the 1980s. The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, current bishop David Zubik and St. Alphonsus Catholic Church are defendants in the lawsuit.
Both men allege they were abused by the Rev. Francis Pucci, who retired in 1992 and died in 2002. Pucci was named in the August 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report that identified 3oo predatory priests who were involved in sex crimes.
The men were 11 and 13 when the abuse began, the lawsuit alleges. The abuse occurred in multiple locations, including the church, rectory, Sunday school building an on trips.
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The lawsuit also alleges the diocese moved Pucci to 13 different locations over three decades to cover up the abuse.
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