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FORMER LIBERTY PRIEST DEFROCKED

LOCAL NEWS

01/28/2010

A FORMER LOCAL PRIEST HAS BEEN DEFROCKED FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN ILLINOIS AND LATER IN SOUR LAKE, TEXAS. ACCORDING TO A PRESS RELEASE FROM CURTIS J. GUILLORY BISHOP OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BEAUMONT, FATHER FRANK PADUCH WAS REMOVED FROM THE PRIESTHOOD IN 2005 FOLLOWING AN INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL AND OTHER FORMS OF MISCONDUCT. FRANK PADUCH (PAH-DUKE) SERVED AS PASTOR OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LIBERTY FROM 1999 TO 2001. BISHOP GUILLORY SAID TO DATE, NONE OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST FRANK PADUCH DATE FROM WHEN HE WAS HERE, BUT CHURCH OFFICIALS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANY MISCONDUCT DID OCCUR DURING THE PERIOD WHEN THEN – FATHER PADUCH WAS IN LIBERTY. BISHOP GUILLORY’S PRESS RELEASE SAID THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS OF ANY COMPLAINTS OR ALLEGATIONS AGAINST PADUCH WHEN HE CAME TO THE BEAUMONT DIOCESE IN 1987 AND WAS INITIALLY ASSIGNED TO ST. CHARLES CHURCH IN NEDERLAND. THEN, FROM 1991 TO 1996 CAME COMPLAINTS OF WHAT BISHOP GUILLORY REFERRED TO AS "UNBECOMING BEHAVIOR" WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INCLUDING ACCUSATIONS OF SERVING ALCOHOL TO MINORS IN THE CHURCH RECTORY, AS WELL VERBAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE TOWARD A TEENAGE BOY. BY THAT TIME, FRANK PADUCH HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO SERVE HAS A TEACHER AT OUR LADY OF VICTORY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUR LAKE. BISHOP CURTIS J. GUILLORY SAID FATHER PADUCH WAS SUED IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS WHERE HE HAD SERVED PRIOR TO COMING TO BEAUMONT. THAT COMPLAINT WAS OVER ALLEGED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN REPORTED TO HAVE TAKEN PLACE BACK IN 1980. THEN IN 2001 CAME ANOTHER ACCUSATION OF SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A VICTIM WHO HAD BEEN 16-YEARS-OLD AT THE TIME. THAT INCIDENT IS SAID TO HAVE OCCURRED IN 1991, WHICH WAS ALSO BEFORE FRANK PADUCH ARRIVED AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LIBERTY. HE TOOK A THREE-YEAR LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM THE PRIESTHOOD AND LEFT LIBERTY. AGAIN, THAT LEAVE OF ABSENCE BECAME PERMANENT WHEN THE INVESTIGATION INTO THESE COMPLAINTS RESULTED IN HIS BEING DEFROCKED. THE BEAUMONT DIOCESE IS ACTIVELY SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT ANY MISCONDUCT INVOLVING FATHER FRANK PADUCH THAT MAY HAVE OCCURRED WHILE HE SERVED IN LIBERTY, FROM SEPTEMBER 1999 THROUGH AUGUST 2001. ONE RELIABLE SOURCE WITH SPOKE WITH HERE IN LIBERTY SAID THE ONLY COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST FRANK PADUCH DURING HIS TIME HERE INVOLVED USING INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF TEENAGERS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON REPORTING MISCONDUCT BY THIS FORMER PRIEST OR ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE CATHOLIC CLERGY, GO TO THE BEAUMONT CATHOLIC DIOCESE’S WEB SITE. IT’S WWW.DIOCESEOFBMT.ORG AND CLICK ON THE "SAFE ENVIRONMENT" TAB OR CALL 409-924-4300.