Priest pleads guilty in Philly abuse case

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --

A priest who taught at a Roman Catholic high school for boys pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing a student in the late 1970s.

The Rev. James J. Behan, 61, an Oblate priest who now lives in Maryland, faces up to 25 years in jail for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors. He remains free on bond at an Oblate retirement home until his sentencing in May.

Behan performed oral sex on the teenager dozens of times from 1978 to 1980 when he taught at Northeast Catholic High School for Boys, prosecutor Maureen McCartney said. The victim, who was 15 when the abuse started, had thoughts of becoming a priest and spent considerable time with Behan, she said.

The sex acts took place at rectories and on overnight trips, but apparently not at the high school, she said.

'This is a person that was a priest. He taught at the same school, he took this student under his wing, and then he abused him,' McCartney said."

Read the article at Seattle Post-Intelligencer dated February 8, 2005

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