A Tennessee priest recently convicted in North Carolina of sexually abusing a Jeffersonville, Ind., man when the latter was a boy has been indicted on similar charges in Virginia. Bill Casey — who was sentenced to probation in July in McDowell County, N.C., after pleading guilty to committing a crime against nature in the 1970s — was indicted Monday on two counts of similar charges in Scott County, Va.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn., suspended Casey in April after Warren Tucker of Jeffersonville traveled there to report that Casey had abused him as a youth during the 1970s in his native Tennessee. Bishop Richard Stika said Casey admitted to abusing the boy.
Tucker has said the abuse happened in Tennessee, which has statutes of limitations on prosecuting older felony cases, but also on outings to nearby Virginia and North Carolina, which do not have such time limits.
A Scott County, Va., grand jury indicted Casey on charges of sodomy and indecent liberties with a minor, both felonies that carry a combined maximum sentence of 25 years, said Commonwealth's Attorney Marcus McClung.
"It does bring its challenges because it's an older case," McClung said, but added that he's confident the case is solid.
The indictment said the abuse took place between June 1 and Sept. 1, 1978, at Natural Tunnel State Park.
McClung said he is arranging a time for Casey to turn himself in for arraignment.
In late July, Casey received probation in McDowell County, N.C., after he pleaded guilty to one count of a crime against nature.
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
