Pennsylvania

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Friar Accused of Sex Abuse Cover-Up

The judge found the statute of limitations expired before child endangerment and conspiracy charges were filed last year against 74-year-old Anthony "Giles" Schinelli.

A judge has dismissed charges against one of three Franciscan friars accused of improperly supervising a man accused of molesting more than 100 children, most at a Pennsylvania high school.

The judge found the statute of limitations expired before child endangerment and conspiracy charges were filed last year against 74-year-old Anthony "Giles" Schinelli.

Schinelli was the first of three friars who either supervised or assigned duties to Brother Stephen Baker when he served at Johnstown's Bishop McCort Catholic High School in the 1990s.

The Altoona Mirror reported that charges against two other friars who supervised Baker after Schinelli will stand because the ages of his alleged victim still falls within the time limits defined by the law.

Baker killed himself in 2013, before church officials paid more than $8 million to settle claims against him.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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