Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., Sex Abuse, Pennsylvania 2015

Priest Sentenced to 16+ Years in Prison for Sex Abuse

A Pennsylvania priest has been sentenced to 200 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for sexually abusing minors.

PITTSBURGH – Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., 70, of Central City, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 200 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for offenses related to his sexual abuse of two minor boys during trips to Honduras over a five-year period.

Maurizio was convicted on September 22, 2015, following an eight-day jury trial, of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, possession of child pornography and international money laundering.

The priest used his position to gain access to the minors and purchase them gifts to build trust and ensure their compliance during the abuse.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Pittsburgh investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Haines of the Western District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.

Maurizio was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution to each of the two minor victims.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Maurizio’s sentence ensures that he will never again have the opportunity to travel beyond our nation’s borders to victimize children.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/pennsylvania-priest-sentenced-16-years-prison-sexually-abusing-minors