Philadelphia Priest Accused Of Stealing $900,000

Despicable.

A priest who led the largest Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia stole $900,000 and used some of it to ply a student he had molested with drugs and alcohol, prosecutors said Thursday.

The Rev. Charles Newman became president of Archbishop Ryan High School in July 2002 but was fired 15 months later when questions arose about his handling of school finances.

Forensic audits show he stole $331,000 from the school and more than $550,000 from his religious order, the Franciscan Friars, District Attorney Lynne Abraham said. Newman, 57, gave $54,000 to a former student, who later sued over what he described as a sexual relationship with Newman that started when he was a high school junior.

The pair would meet at Newman's office or residence and often used drugs together while having sex, prosecutors said. The indictment unsealed Thursday charges Newman with six counts of felony theft and one count of felony forgery, the latter stemming from his alleged use of another friar's signature stamp on a $32,000 check. (H/T - CBS3)

This story is despicable on its face, but even more so for me, because Newman taught at my Alma mater. Both my wife and I had classes with Newman while at Archbishop Ryan, and we both knew him well. Newman was the moderator of the school play while my wife was in the cast, and he was the moderator of the school newspaper while I was the editor-in-chief.

Most of the students thought Newman was an above average teacher and a very decent person. Apparently, the latter was not the case. This news is like a knife in the heart.

I sincerely hope Newman is brought to justice, sooner rather than later.

(Captain America has some thoughts on this story HERE.)