By Seamus McGraw
May 9, 2006
TOLEDO, Ohio (Crime Libarary) — He was dismissed from his order a decade ago, and though Chet Warren has never been formally expelled from the priesthood, he has been barred from performing any of his clerical duties within the Toledo Diocese. In an almost unprecedented step, the Bishop denounced him from the pulpit, and the church has even gone so far as to warn parochial school principals last year to steer clear of a tutoring service run by a woman with links to him. In the years since the allegations against him first surfaced, he has been the subject of news articles, and even a casual search of the Internet turns up an armload of stories and blogs detailing three decades of allegations of his sexual abuse of children.
 |
| Chet Warren |
In short, the man who still calls himself Father Chet Warren, and who still enjoys the support of many in the diocese, may well be the most heavily publicized suspected pedophile in Ohio, perhaps even the country. Warren, who is living in enforced retirement in Sylvania, Ohio, could not be reached for comment
And yet, his name does not appear on any Megan's Law list, and there is little the law can do to monitor his whereabouts or curtail his dealings with children because, despite the allegations against him, Warren, shielded by the statute of limitations, was never convicted of any of the offenses.
It is arguable that given his high profile, a profile that gained even more notoriety when allegations surfaced linking him to a cabal of priests who accused of using ritual and elements of Black Magic in the abuse of children, that even if Chet Warren had been tried and convicted, there is little more that authorities could do to protect the community.
Next Page
Priest Ritual Sex Abuse Forum
See Feature Story on Gerald Robinson Case
See Court TV Coverage of Trial
For more daily crime news
default
increase
decrease
email
print
