Former Levittown Priest Accused Of Molesting Kids Charged

A disgraced former priest has been charged in Bucks County with the sexual assault of two altar boys and authorities fear there could be more victims.

Francis “Frank” Trauger, 74, of Brooklyn, New York, was arraigned Tuesday morning before District Judge Robert Wagner on charges of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, and corruption of minors. The district judge set the defrocked priest’s bail at $250,000 unsecured.

Trauger allegedly sexually assaulted the two boys, who were about 12 years old at the time, in the mid-1990s and early 2000s during the robing process before mass at the recognizable St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church on Levittown Parkway in Tullytown Borough.

Court papers note the two boys – now ages 31 and 35 – shared similar accounts with detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and Tullytown police.

“Trauger was a priest at the church from 1993 until 2003. The District Attorney’s Office believes he may have harmed additional young people in this time,” prosecutors said in a press release.

“This defendant abused his position of power to take advantage of these young men. They are very brave for coming forward now,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “I say this to anyone else out there who was victimized by this predator: Please come forward. You will be heard, and justice will be done.”

Weintraub urged those who may have been victims of Trauger to come forward to investigators by calling Tullytown Sgt. Phil Kulan at 215-945-0999 ext. 225 or Bucks County Detectives Lt. David Kemmerer at 215-348-6354.

“If you were a victim of this man – ex-priest Francis “Frank” Trauger – please come forward. It is not too late. You may believe the statute of limitations is expired … but please let us make those determinations,” the district attorney said.

When asked by a LevittownNow.com reporter, Weintraub said victims of the massive catholic church molestation scandal can come forward even if they’ve received past settlements with the church.

Trauger was removed from the priesthood in 2003 and St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church was his last assignment.

In 2005, Trauger was named in a grand jury report in Philadelphia that said the Levittown-area priest was accused of sexually assaulting and raping boys. However, no charges were brought at the time.

Authorities listed in an affidavit of probable cause that one of the victims came to the attention of Bucks County investigators through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s investigators.

Weintraub declined to speak more on how the reported victims were identified by detectives.

While speaking with reporters at Tullytown Borough Hall Tuesday afternoon, Weintraub said he was not aware the church knew of any allegations of the incidents in that borough until recently.

Trauger will be judged in the court of law, Weintraub said, adding he can’t be certain of any other judgement.

Reporting from several years ago shows that a man testified in 2012 during a trial in Philadelphia that Trauger found him as a teenage boy at another catholic church facility after seeing him look at gay porn in Center City in the early 1990s. Trauger reportedly kept the boy in a room for an hour until a school official found the teen.

The 2005 Philadelphia grand jury report notes that Trauger first had allegations of molesting boys made against him in 1982. Testimony stated that the priests sexually assaulted the boys at a motel in the Poconos.

Trauger was reassigned multiple times in the Philadelphia region after the allegations he sexually assaulted boys. He ended up at the Tullytown parish in 1993 and was only removed after his files were subpoenaed by the grand jury in late 2003.

Mike McDonnell, who claims to have been molested by Trauger, spoke to reporters after the press conference in Tullytown.

“I am filled with tears of joy and tears of sorrow,” McDonnell said.

McDonnell said he was molested by Trauger in Montgomery County in 1981. His case was too old to be prosecuted.

“He robbed a lot of life out of a good kid. I was a good kid,” McDonnell said when asked if he has a message for the alleged child molester. “And I’m going to watch you be brought to justice.”

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.