HARRISBURG—Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that a Fayette County priest has pleaded no contest to repeatedly assaulting an 11-year-old altar boy starting in 2004 and continuing until the boy was 14.
“Kawecki’s plea today is a confirmation that we will always hold anyone who abuses children accountable,” said AG Shapiro. “We prosecute these cases because we have a duty to protect children, empower survivors to reclaim their own voice, and seek justice to move forward with the lives still in front of them. No coverup is too complete, no institution too powerful, to stop us from doing our job.”
Andrew Kawecki was charged by the Office of Attorney General in August 2020 after a victim reported to investigators that Kawecki forced sexual encounters with the victim starting when he was 11 years old. The assaults continued for three years in the back room of St. Cyril and Methodius Church in Fairchance where Father Kawecki prepared for services before mass.
Following the filing of charges, an additional victim came forward detailing similar abuses by the defendant that occurred outside the statute of limitations. His allegations were filed in a 404(b) motion by the Office of Attorney General during the litigation of the case.
Kawecki was identified following the release of the Grand Jury on Clergy Sexual Abuse in 2018, but was not named within the report. The report has generated over 2,000 tips to the Office of Attorney General, including the information that led to this conviction.
Kawecki pleaded to Indecent Assault before the Honorable Judge Linda Cordova of Fayette County. His plea will also require him to register as a sex offender for 10 years under Megan’s Law. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye.
# # #
