A Catholic priest was sentenced Friday to 2½ to 14 years in state prison during an emotional proceeding at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Jefferson County Common Pleas President Judge John H. Foradora levied the sentence after reading Bible verses and quoting saints and theologians.
David Poulson, 65, who was assigned to the Diocese of Erie but has been forbidden from serving as a priest and is in the process of being removed from the priesthood, pleaded guilty in October to sexually assaulting one boy and attempting to assault another at a rural Jefferson County cabin between 2002 and 2010.
The two victims were between the ages of 8 and 18 when the sexual abuse happened at the remote hunting cabin. In a statement read to the court by Senior Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye, victim Joseph Schillinger said he suffered lifelong effects from the abuse, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and a suicide attempt.
“Because of this man’s actions I’ve suffered for many years from mental anguish,” he said in the statement, which later continued, “I trusted him and was betrayed.”
A second victim, who was not named, said he hopes the sentence will bring some closure to all of Poulson’s victims.
Poulson apologized during a brief statement in court before he was sentenced.
“The most important thing I want to say is I am sorry for the actions I committed,” he said. “They were both criminal and sinful. I am ashamed of what I did. And listening to the victim impact statements has added to the remorse and regret that I have already felt. I was stunned to the heart to hear the effect my actions had.”
He added that he holds no “ill will” toward the attorney general’s office, the investigating grand jury that produced a mammoth, scathing report last summer about clergy sexual abuse in the six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses, or his victims. He said was grateful to his supporters and defense attorneys.
Poulson was arrested and charged in May by the attorney general’s office when the grand jury heard evidence against him.
The grand jury investigation identified more than 1,000 child victims from more than 300 abusive priests across 54 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties over several decades — but in many cases, the cases were so old that state law prevented prosecutors from bringing criminal charges.
Poulson is one of only two priests who faced criminal prosecution from the grand jury’s investigation.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro said after the proceeding that the stiff sentence — 14 years is the maximum incarceration Poulson could have received — sends a message that the “era of the institutional cover-up has ended.”
“It was a powerful moment to see justice brought down on that predator priest,” Mr. Shapiro said.
He also pushed for reforms to state law that would extend the statute of limitations and give victims more time to come forward about their abuse.
During the sentencing, one of Poulson’s attorneys, Casey White, argued to the judge that Poulson should receive probation or house arrest because he’d done significant good during his decades as a priest and was unlikely to re-offend. He presented more than a dozen letters from the priest’s supporters.
Mr. White also also emphasized that the Catholic Church as a whole was not facing punishment on Friday.
“This is not a sentencing of an institution,” he said. “This is not a punishment of the Catholic church. This is not a punishment for a perceived scandal, this is not a punishment for a perceived cover-up by the Catholic Church….it is punishment for David Poulson, him and him only.”
In a relatively lengthy speech after a brief recess, Judge Foradora quoted Mother Teresa, St. Thomas Aquinas and Bible verses about Jesus’ love for children.
He also expressed frustration with the Catholic church leadership in Erie, which learned in 2010 of worrisome behavior by Poulson toward minors -- including the priest's own admission to being sexually aroused by a boy and spending time alone with boys in violation of policy -- and yet allowed him to stay in ministry until 2016. That was when the diocese received a subpoena from the investigating grand jury.
“All of the letters [from supporters] and all of the good cannot outweigh a sentence of incarceration for the pain you’ve caused to these two victims,” Judge Foradora told Poulson. “You violated their trust. These were children. These were faithful parents who thought their children would be safe with a priest, thought their children will learn from a priest, their children will benefit from being near a priest...These children, just like the ones Jesus put on his lap, believed. The one thing about sex abuse is once that occurs, it can never be reversed.”
He went on to say that in some cases sexual abuse is a crime worse than murder.
Mr. White said after the hearing that he and Poulson were disappointed by the sentence but respect the court’s decision. Poulson will be required to register as a sex offender.
Bishop Lawrence T. Persico, who now leads the Erie diocese, called Friday a “sad moment for everyone who has been impacted by the crimes committed by Father David Poulson” and said he hoped the sentencing brought some healing to the priest’s victims.
One of those victims, James VanSickle, 55, traveled from his home in Robinson to witness the priest’s sentencing. He said he was abused by Poulson in 1979 and 1980, but his case was too old to be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.
He broke down and cried when Poulson spoke in court Friday. It was the first time in 37 years that he’d heard the priest’s voice.
“I believe healing comes in pieces,” he said afterwards. “This is one piece I can now close the door on.”
Shelly Bradbury: 412-263-1999, sbradbury@post-gazette.com or follow @ShellyBradbury on Twitter.
First Published: January 11, 2019, 7:58 p.m.
Updated: January 11, 2019, 9:55 p.m.