Robert Frank Poandl, Interstate Transportation of a Minor, Ohio 1991

A U.S. District Court jury has convicted Robert Frank Poandl, 72, of Fairfield, Ohio, of one count of interstate transportation of a minor for illicit purposes, a federal law known as the Mann Act.

The crime occurred in August 1991, when Poandl, a priest, transported a 10-year-old boy from Cincinnati to Spencer, West Virginia, where he sexually assaulted the child. The abuse was not disclosed until the victim came forward in 2009.

The crime is punishable by a sentence ranging from zero to 10 years in prison. Poandl has been on house arrest with electronic monitoring since his arrest in 2012.

“Today’s verdict should give victims courage to come forward, even if the abuse happened years ago,” said U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Poandl was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2012 and arrested by FBI agents at the Glenmary Missioners in Fairfield, Ohio.

Stewart commended the investigation by FBI agents and investigators with the Greater Cincinnati ICAC and the West Virginia State Police, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Muncy and Timothy Oakley.

Agencies participating in the Greater Cincinnati ICAC include the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and local law enforcement agencies.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/jury-convicts-priest-illegal-interstate-transportation-minor