Gerard Krebs

Ordained: 1963
Diocese: Diocese of Erie

From the Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Three known victims came forward indicating that they were sexually abused by Father Gerard Krebs.  The first victim claimed in a March 19, 2002 e-mail communication to Bishop Donald Trautman that he was sexually abused by Krebs in 1968. At that time Krebs was an English teacher at Venango Christian High School (“VCHS”). Sometime around graduation, Victim #1 learned that he had impregnated his girlfriend. Distraught, he sought out Krebs for counseling and guidance. Krebs stated that he was once a pre-med student and in order to determine whether or not Victim was capable of impregnating a woman Krebs needed to check Victim #1’s prostate. Krebs did so through penetration of Victim #1’s anus with his finger.

A second victim alleged that Krebs sexually abused him sometime in the late 1960s at VCHS. In a letter to Father Tom Brown of St. Thomas the Apostle in Corry dated April 6, 2002, a woman stated that her brother was “sexually molested” by Krebs and that she had learned of it through conversation with her brother. She further alleged that Krebs was known to take the victim and other male students to different places and to give them wine.

The third victim stated in an October 20, 2006 e-mail that he attended VCHS from 1964 to 1968. Victim #3, who was Episcopalian, approached Krebs during his junior year about the possibility of becoming Catholic. Victim #3 alleged that Krebs led him through “a series of sexual rituals to both prove my faith and the fact that I was not a homosexual.” Moreover, Victim #3 referenced a 1969 graduate of VCHS who described numerous experiences of the same nature that he and other classmates endured but did not divulge any additional information.

In 2002, following these allegations, Krebs underwent psychological evaluation at St. Luke’s Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland. At this time, Krebs expressed acceptance of his homosexuality during his evaluations but stated he could not recall any specific instances in which he had sexually abused young boys. Krebs did, however, indicate that his drinking was so severe at that point in his life that he could not rule out the possibility of it having happened. Krebs did appear to recall Victim #2 and stated that they slept together in the same bed in a hotel room but had had no sexual contact.

The Grand Jury found no documentation indicating that law enforcement was ever notified about any of Krebs interactions with his victims.

Additional information regarding the widespread sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Dioceses of Pennsylvania and the systemic cover up by senior church officials is compiled in the Pennsylvania Diocese Victim’s Report published by the Pennsylvania Attorney General following a two-year grand jury investigation.  A complete copy of the Report is available on the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s website.