Fraudster: Priest sex-abuse led to $100k ripoff

A Bucks County man who bilked the Archdiocese of Philadelphia out of $100,000 in false claims for psychotherapy visits has been sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison.

Michael W. McDonnell, 42, removed his glasses and wiped his eyes as Judge Albert J. Cepparulo pronounced the sentence, which includes five years probation and the payment of restitution.

Assistant District Attorney Jay Karsch called the sentence, "appropriate." McDonnell's attorney William Spade left the Doylestown Courthouse without commenting.

McDonnell, of Bristol, was immediately ushered out of the courtroom to begin serving his jail term.

McDonnell, senior coordinator for the Southern Bucks Recovery Center, was arrested and pleaded guilty in 2010 to theft, forgery and receiving stolen property in connection with $9,000 he misappropriated from donations and payments to the recovery center.

His attorney alleged during the sentencing hearing that McDonnell, as a 12- to 14-year old, was fondled and sexually-abused by two Roman Catholic priests, and that the experience so traumatized him that he committed the crimes.

In one dramatic account related by the judge from the presentencing report, McDonnell told of a priest lowering McDonnell's pants during a visit to the Jersey Shore and placing live crabs on his buttocks.

Spade told the courtroom that such abuse did not excuse McDonnell's crimes but provided a psychological backdrop for them.

McDonnell in a prepared speech to the judge said: "I was wrong. I'm aware I was wrong. I'm getting better."

"I have invested a lot of time. I do feel better," McDonnell continued. "I want to make some contribution to those I affected."

He asked the judge not to incarcerate him. But the judge said he had to.

"It is your greed alone that has caused this harm," the judge said. "You have harmed those close to you, those trying to help you, and those who were trying to help others."

The losses to the recovery center, a part of the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania Inc. in Doylestown, surfaced after questions arose about a $400 check written in 2009 by a longtime donor to the center.

The man learned that the money hadn't gone for its intended purpose, but couldn't get a refund or receipt, according to court records.

When a detective traced the money to a TD bank account held by McDonnell, she found the check and others like it had been spent on his rent, housecleaning, a golf outing, and appointments for his girlfriend with a breast-enhancement specialist, the records said.

The detective also found evidence of $87,135 in false charges to the archdiocese from June 2007 to February 2010 for the counseling sessions and $13,059.57 for mileage to and from the nonexistent visits, the papers said.

The archdiocesan victim aid unit paid the claims without checking beyond McDonnell's bogus receipts to substantiate the charges, police said. Archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna Farrell has in the past declined to discuss the case with reporters.

Spade has said the alleged abuse against his client caused post-traumatic stress disorder, but the case couldn't be prosecuted because "it was beyond the statute of limitations."

After the sentencing, Bev Haberle, the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania's executive director, said she was satisfied with the ruling.

"I certainly think everything the judge said was accurate," Haberle said.

Asked how the agency is fairing in light of the losses, she said: "We're still recouping. Hopefully, the public and those that need us will realize that we are still who we are."

McDonnell's attorney could not be reached to determine if he would appeal the judge's ruling.