Anglican Watch has just learned from a reliable source that there has been a criminal referral involving the conflict at St. Paul’s, Montvale. We are told that the referral involves potentially illegal conduct by Jeff Piatt and Beth Abrahamson, including possible tax evasion, money laundering, and theft of church financial records. The referral also references Montvale Landscaping. While we… Read More »
Editor: This story is particularly telling due to the ongoing cultural issues at Episcopal church headquarters, otherwise known as 815. Specifically, there have been problems for decades involving bullying, politics, accountability, and more. While ++Curry is to be commended for his actions, there remains much work to be done, both at 815 and at every level of the… Read More »
Delegates to General Convention from Western and Eastern Michigan have asked for a review of the Office of Pastoral Development and its role in Title IV, particularly for bishops. The sharply worded request has it genesis in the dismal handling of the disciplinary case against The Rt. Rev. Whayne Hougland Jr., who had an extramarital affair. Todd Ousley,… Read More »
James Lilly, a transgender youth minister at several Episcopal churches, including Christ Episcopal Church in Bluefield WV, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse. The plea was the result of an agreement with prosecutors, in which 28 accounts were dropped. Citing a lack of remorse and attempts to discredit a witness, Lilly was sentenced to between 2… Read More »
Timothy Taffe, a volunteer at St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church, located in Plantation FL, was convicted on federal charges of attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. Taffe, who served as a church greeter, began aggressively contacting the youth after meeting her at a church game night. The youth notified family members and allowed police to take… Read More »
Episcopal priest William J. Smith pleaded guilty to counts of sexual assault against minor male parishioners at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in Oneida, Wisconsin and Christ the Episcopal Church in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, both in the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. He was also charged with taking nude photographs of male campers at Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee… Read More »
Baltimore Episcopal organist and boy choir director David R. Riley was granted probation before judgment on one count of child pornography possession after police found hundreds of “photographs that depicted young boys as the subjects of sadomasochistic abuse” with clothespins on their bodies. Riley entered an Alford Plea and did not admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors had… Read More »
Conservative Anglo-Catholic Episcopal priest Bradley Barber was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. He was a member of the Evangelical and Catholic Mission opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood. Barber was a priest at Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota, Florida until he became a Roman Catholic priest in 1994. Barber was featured in… Read More »
In 2006 retired teacher Jonathan Utin of Christ Episcopal Church in Blacksburg, Virginia (Diocese of Southwestern Virginia) was arrested on charges of sexual misconduct. Utin pleaded guilty to rape of a girl under 10 years old and also confessed to molesting “a 3-year-old from Alabama and a sixth-grader with whom he reportedly said he’d had a long-term sexual… Read More »
In 1991 Episcopal priest William E. Krueger fled prosecution after a warrant was issued for his arrest in Illinois on charges of criminal sexual assault and child pornography possession. Krueger died in 1992 before the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield acted on the charges to discipline him. Krueger was a conservative Anglo-Catholic graduate of Nashotah House who listed himself… Read More »
Episcopal youth group leader Julio Andres “Andy” Castillo was arrested in 2016 on charges of sexually abusing two boys under the age of 16 whom he met at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Rock Hill, South Carolina. “According to prosecutors, Castillo had a very close relationship with the boys’ family, which include keys to their home and… Read More »