A former priest who once served in Owego has pled guilty to sexually abusing a teenage boy.
83-year-old Ralph Johnson – who now lives in Gibson Township, PA – pled guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in Susquehanna County Court on Friday.
Johnson faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.
The former rector of St. Paul’s in Owego was deposed as a priest in 2006 after another priest at the church made the diocese aware of sexual abuse allegations.
Johnson was arrested in Susquehanna County in February and charged with 45 counts related to the sexual abuse of a boy. Police say the incidents occurred at the former priest’s home from 1992 to 1995 when the victim was between 11 and 13 years old.
