A former Catholic priest has been arrested and indicted for making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during a wide-ranging inquiry into the allegations of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania.
On Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the indictment against Robert Brennan, a former priest. He served at the Resurrection of our Lord Parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1993 to 2004.
In September 2013, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Brennan. He allegedly sexually abused a minor while serving as a priest the Resurrection parish.
In October of that year, the lawsuit against him was dismissed when his alleged victim died of a drug overdose. The following month, the victim’s family filed a civil complaint against Brennan and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. On May 2, 2018, the parties agreed to settle the case for an undisclosed amount.
Former Catholic priest allegedly tried to obstruct investigation
On April 25 this year, FBI interviewed Brennan regarding the sexual abuse allegation against him in 2013. The former priest lied by claiming that he did not know the victim and his family prior to the filing of the case against him.
