Edward G. Huff

Ordained: 1973
Diocese: Diocese of Pittsburgh

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

Beginning in 1992, several victims reported to the Diocese of Pittsburgh that while Father Edward G. Huff was a priest at St. Anthony, he inappropriately touched them.  It was reported that he would invite teenage male students to the rectory, provide them with alcohol, and wrestle with them, at times.  Huff would also attempt to take students with him to go bowling, to see Pittsburgh Pirates games, and to go to Cedar Point.

One victim stated that Huff would repeatedly ask him to go places with him. Eventually, the victim agreed to attend a Pittsburgh Pirates game alone with Huff.  While Huff was driving them home, he asked the victim to move closer to him in the front seat of the car.  Huff then allowed the victim to drive the car by taking control of the steering wheel while the car was travelling at 55 mph on the interstate.  Huff then pulled up the victim’s pant legs and began feeling his legs.  Huff then moved his hand up to the victim’s thigh, untucked his shirt and rubbed his stomach.  Huff then unbuttoned the victim’s pants and attempted to place his hand down the front of the victim’s pants. At that point, the victim told Huff he no longer wanted to drive and moved back to the passenger seat.  Once again, Huff began rubbing the victim’s stomach and attempted to move his hand down into the victim’s pants.  This continued off and on until Huff took the victim home. The records revealed that other victims provided similar accounts of Huff allowing them to drive his car while touching them inappropriately.

Prior to the victim’s Confirmation, Huff met with him privately in the rectory.  While sitting, Huff pulled the victim’s chair closer to his and began touching the victim’s knees and rubbing his thighs. The victim grabbed Huff’s wrist and pushed him away. The victim reported these incidents to the Diocese in the form of a letter dated December 31, 1992.

On February 27, 1992, while a priest at St. Anselm, Huff was removed from his assignment. Subsequently on March 5, 1992, Huff was evaluated by St. Michael’s Community Program in St. Louis, Missouri and began treatment there on April 16, 1992. In October, 1992, Huff returned to Pittsburgh and was assigned to the Office for Chaplains and Campus Ministry where he was responsible for supervising chaplains at hospitals and nursing home facilities.

On January 7, 1993, Huff was placed on administrative leave and then returned to St. Michael’s the following day for further treatment.  On February 16, 1993, Huff resigned from active ministry.

On June 22, 1994, Huff was arrested and charged with several crimes in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania for conduct that occurred when he was a priest at St. Anthony’s.  On August 21, 1996, Huff pled guilty and was sentenced to serve 18 months to 5 years in prison. He was paroled on August 5, 1999.

There was a May 5, 2000 handwritten note (author unknown) in Huff’s file.  The note stated that Huff, “admitted to touching 500 kids and targeting at least 1200 . . .”

On May 5, 2008, another victim disclosed that in the early 1980s, while he was an altar server at St. Gabriel, he was inappropriately touched by Huff.  Huff often took the victim to Pittsburgh Pirates games and provided him with alcohol.  While the victim was in Huff’s car, Huff would stroke the victim’s leg and gradually move up to his genital area. The victim could not remember everything that occurred due to being intoxicated.  He stated that he passed out from alcohol provided by Huff.

A narrative contained in Diocesan files indicated that on June 14, 2015, altar server training was conducted at St. Joseph the Worker in New Castle. Huff came into the church and was overheard asking a teenage male if he would like to go to a Pittsburgh Pirates game with him in the future. The teen declined the offer and his mother contacted church officials about the incident.

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.