Local Priest Charged With Molesting Orphans During Missionary Trips To Honduras

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A local priest has been charged after allegedly molesting children in a foreign country.

According to a Department of Justice release, Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., 69, was arrested on Sept. 25, 2014.

Maurizio Jr. was a priest at the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

According to the criminal complaint, he traveled to Honduras every year from 1999 to 2009 to help a non-profit organization that assists children.

During that time, Maurizio Jr. allegedly gave young boys candy and money and engaged in sexual activities with them.

On Sept. 12, a search warrant was executed at the rectory of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Central City. Another search warrant was executed at his farm in Windber.

Officers seized several electronic devices, "including a hard drive allegedly containing images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

He is facing a list of charges including foreign travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors and possession of child pornography.

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