A Catholic priest in Chester County, Pennsylvania, has been slapped with felony theft charges after authorities said he stole donations from his parish to spend on himself and on “men with whom he maintained sexual relationships.”
Father Joseph McLoone, 56, took over as the priest of St. Joseph’s Parish in 2011 after Monsignor William Lynn was arrested for covering up a sex abuse scandal. Soon after he filled the role, police say McLoone opened up a bank account named “St. Joseph Activity Account,” into which he diverted about $125,000 in donation checks over a six-year period.
According to a press release from the Chester District Attorney’s Office, “[McLoone] created the activity account for the purpose of avoiding disclosure of the funds to the diocese and ensuring that nobody at the parish could see what these funds were being spent on.”
Authorities said that McLoone stole $98,405 from the parish by making regular cash withdrawals in Ocean City, New Jersey, where he had a vacation home. He is also alleged to have stolen all the checks and cash from the parish’s annual All Souls celebration each November. Police said he gave away money to men he was in sexual relationships with through Square, a mobile credit card pay service, and JPay, an app that allows users to send money to people who are incarcerated.
McLoone gave $1,200 to an inmate in New York and $1,720 to other men he met on Grindr, a gay dating app, authorities said.
His bank account was frozen in February of last year while the Archdiocese of Philadelphia investigated the parish’s finances. After being questioned in spring 2018, McLoone told church officials the certain expenditures from his account “were for personal expenses of an inappropriate nature,” and he was placed on administrative leave.
The archdiocese issued a statement following McLoone’s Wednesday arrest.
“These charges are serious and disturbing,” the statement read. “The Archdiocese and the parish will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as the criminal matter enters its next phase. Pending the outcome, Monsignor McLoone remains on administrative leave.”
McLoone’s defense attorney, Melissa McCafferty, maintains her client’s innocence.
“The Chester County District Attorney’s Office is overreaching,” McCafferty said. “They filed these charges based off speculation, conjecture, and innuendo.”
“They won’t be able to prove them,” she said.
McLoone’s bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.
