Ex-Ohio priest accused of abuse

Philippine immigration authorities have arrested an American Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting altar boys in a remote central town in a case one official described as “shocking and appalling.”

The Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, who has been indicted in Ohio for illicit sexual conduct in the Philippines, was arrested in a church in Naval town in the island province of Biliran on Wednesday, Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval said Thursday.

A federal court magistrate in Cincinnati issued a warrant for the arrest of the 77-yearold Hendricks, according to news reports.

Hendricks had formerly been a Franciscan priest serving in the archdiocese of Cincinnati, the Catholic News Agency reported. The website of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati lists Hendricks as a missionary in Asia.

According to Sandoval, Hendricks has been living in the Philippines for 37 years.

The U.S. criminal case against Hendricks stemmed from complaints from the alleged Filipino victims, Sandoval said. Federal law prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in illicit sexual conduct overseas.

Early Thursday, the Cinicnnati Enquirer reported that U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman issued a statement that a former Cincinnati priest who is assigned internationally by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for mission work is facing charges that the priest “sexually abused multiple young boys.” The statement from Glassman’s office did not name the priest, the newspaper reported. and Sugardale. There are strips and bacon bits (each $1) in the machine, which will be stocked by students in Ohio State’s meat science program, which will receive the proceeds of the vending machine sales.