Retired Greensburg priest and former state police chaplain charged with sex crimes

A retired Catholic priest, who also served as a Pennsylvania State Police chaplain, has been arrested and charged with sexual crimes that date back more than a decade.  

According to the criminal complaint provided to KDKA-TV, 84-year-old Robert Byrnes was charged with aggravated indecent assault, obstruction of administration of law or other governmental functions, and official oppression. 

The criminal complaint states that in March, a man came forward and reported to state police that while he was working at Christ Our Shepard, he had been sexually assaulted by Byrnes. According to the man's recounting, while working in the kitchen, he was bent over at an ice machine when Byrnes put his hand down the back of his pants and began to assault him. 

The man told police he did not consent to the interaction. 

Another man, who also worked at Christ Our Shepard, came forward and reported to police that he and Byrnes struck up a friendship, and Byrnes would invite him up to his room after work. He said that Byrnes suggested he shower and clean up in his room following a work shift. After a while, Byrnes began to come in and watch the man shower. 

He also told police that Byrnes would provide him with alcohol, and at various times, he would wake up naked in Byrnes's bed the following morning. 

Both of the men said that in the past two months, they had confronted Byrnes about the incidents, and in a recorded phone call provided to police, they asked if they should talk to a therapist or police about it. The criminal complaint said that Byrnes "begged" them not to do so "for the sake of the reputation of the church, the priesthood, for other priests, [and] for my family." 

Byrnes, in those phone calls, also said that he did recall the incidents, but said they could've been interpreted as "a gesture of friendship." 

In a statement, the Diocese of Greensburg said, "Byrnes has not been in active ministry in any parish or entity of the Diocese of Greensburg for the last 8 years. He was removed from all ministry and placed on inactive status on August 3, 2018, as a result of a review and a recommendation by the Diocesan Clergy Review Board.  Prior to his arrest, he resided at the Christ Our Shepherd Center. Byrnes is no longer in residence at the Christ Our Shepherd Center.  As always, the Diocese will continue its full cooperation with law enforcement and respects the legal process now underway."

Byrnes has since been released on bail and will have a preliminary hearing on June 1.