W. Jeffrey Paulish

Ordained: 1988
Diocese: Diocese of Scranton

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

On September 20, 2013, the Diocese of Scranton was notified by the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office that Father W. Jeffrey Paulish was in custody. Campus security officers at the University of Scranton had caught Paulish having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Paulish ultimately pled guilty to the charge of corruption of a minor and was sentenced to eight to 23 months in prison.

The Diocese instructed the pastors of any churches to which Paulish had been assigned to advise their congregations that law enforcement had found Paulish engaged in an inappropriate act with a minor.  The pastors were further instructed to encourage anyone who may have been involved in, or may be aware of, any abusive situation involving Paulish to contact the District Attorney’s Office or local law enforcement.

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.