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List of Priests Accused of Abuse

The list of names of priests who have served in the Diocese of Steubenville and have been credibly accused of at least one act of sexual abuse of a minor consists of:

• Cletus Altermatt, suspended from ministry in 1962 (deceased);

• Elwood Bernas, suspended from ministry in 1986;

• Robert A. Brown (deceased);

• Vincent Danko, suspended from ministry in 1971 (deceased);

• H. Christopher Foxhoven, suspended from ministry Oct. 27, 2018, dismissed from the clerical state by Pope Francis March 26, 2020;

• Harold Goschke, suspended from ministry in 1957 (deceased);

• Kenneth Harris, suspended from ministry in 1963 (deceased);

• Michael Hellmer, suspended from ministry in 1989 (deceased);

• John “Jack” Holmes, suspended from ministry in 1989 (deceased);

• Anthony Jablonowski, suspended from ministry in 2003, dismissed from the clerical state by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006;

• Robert F. Marrer, deceased;

• Joseph A. Martinkosky, suspended from ministry in 1991;

• John Nadzam, suspended from ministry in 2004 (deceased);

• Walter Plimmer, suspended from ministry in 1956 (deceased);

• Francis Rothbauer, suspended from ministry in 1998 (deceased);

• Joel Wright, pre-theology seminarian, who never became a candidate for ordination; dismissed as a seminarian in January 2016, convicted in July 2016.

• Gary Zalenski, suspended from ministry in 2007, dismissed from the clerical state as a result of an ecclesiastical trial in 2014.

A retired priest who was removed from active ministry in May 2018, because of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, is not on the list because Belmont County law enforcement authorities are currently investigating the case. Any religious order priests were not included, because they are under the jurisdiction of their religious order superiors.