PA Catholic Priest Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges

The National Catholic Reporter reports:

Fr. Armand D. Garcia appeared in a Philadelphia courtroom Oct. 23 to plead guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor. He will be sentenced in January 2024. The abuse took place while Garcia was a parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Philadelphia from 2014-2017.

The priest had initially been charged with rape; photographing, filming and depicting on a computer sexual acts; sexual assault; and corruption of a minor.

According to the criminal docket, the first three charges were dropped, while Garcia entered a non-negotiated guilty plea for corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor. The victim was was a 13-year-old student at the parish school when she met the priest.

Read the full article.

He’s only a “former priest” in that the archdiocese suspended him upon his arrest. He hasn’t been defrocked.