FAIRCHANCE, Pennsylvania — A Pennsylvania priest has been charged with the sexual assault of an altar boy during a three-year period that started when the victim was 11, authorities said.
Father Andrew Kawecki, 65, of Scottdale, surrendered Wednesday at the Attorney General’s office in Fayette County, where the alleged offenses occurred. He’s charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and two counts of indecent assault.
Kawecki maintains his innocence, church officials said. It wasn’t known Thursday if he’s retained an attorney.
The charges stem from a series of incidents that occurred between 2004-07, while the victim’s family attended the SS. Cyril and Methodius Roman Catholic Church in Fairchance.
The investigation into Kawecki was initiated in May 2019, and arose from a tip generated in the wake of the attorney general’s 2018 grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. The Diocese of Greensburg said he was removed from the ministry at that time and parishioners were notified about the allegations.
