Former priest in Fairchance will register as sex offender after indecent assault plea
A former priest in Fairchance pleaded no contest Monday to repeatedly assaulting an 11-year-old altar boy over a three-year period.
As part of his plea to indecent assault, Andrew Kawecki, 66, of Greensburg will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years under Megan蘑菇视频 Law.
鈥淜awecki蘑菇视频 plea today is a confirmation that we will always hold anyone who abuses children accountable,鈥� said state Attorney General Josh Shapiro. 鈥淲e prosecute these cases because we have a duty to protect children, empower survivors to reclaim their own voice, and seek justice to move forward with the lives still in front of them. No coverup is too complete, no institution too powerful, to stop us from doing our job.鈥�
Kawecki assaulted the boy from 2004 until 2007 at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church. Now an adult, the victim came forward after the 2018 release of a grand jury report that revealed sexual assaults committed by priests throughout Pennsylvania.
Shapiro said Kawecki was not named in the report, which was generated over 2,000 tips to the Office of Attorney General, including the information that led to his conviction.
The charges were filed in August 2020.
Following the filing of charges, an additional victim came forward detailing similar abuses by Kawecki that occurred outside the statute of limitations for filing criminal charges, Shapiro said.
Kawecki served in several churches in the area between 1981 and 2016, including St. John Baptist in Perryopolis, St. Sebastian in Belle Vernon, St. James in Maxwell, St. Julian in Isabella, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Leckrone, St. Hubert in Point Marion, St. John the Baptist in Scottdale and St. Joseph in Everson.