North Strabane police charge Catholic deacon with child pornography
Rosendo “Ross” Francis Dacal
A deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh who also served as a chaplain at Allegheny County jail was arrested Tuesday by North Strabane Township police on child pornography charges after he allegedly sent videos exposing himself to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old boy.
Rosendo “Ross” Francis Dacal, 73, of McCandless Township, was arraigned Tuesday night before District Judge Gary Havelka on charges of solicitation of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communications facility. Dacal is also a retired lawyer and opera singer.
Bishop David Zubik issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he was distressed to learn of Dacal’s arrest. Dacal was a permanent deacon assigned to All Saints Parish, Etna, and the jail since July 1, 2011. Dacal was immediately placed on administrative leave and suspended from active ministry.
Officer Gary Scherer, who is a member of the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, was monitoring a chatroom Dec. 20 using an undercover decoy of a 14-year-old North Strabane boy when he was contacted by a person with the username “chubby boy.”
The person, later identified as Dacal, indicated he was an older man from Pennsylvania. Many of the messages were sexually explicit and reportedly solicited naked photographs of the 14-year-old boy, according to court documents. Dacal allegedly engaged in four, one-way video sessions in which he exposed himself.
After obtaining information that identified Dacal, a search warrant for his home was issued Tuesday by a district judge in Allegheny County. Scherer, along with McCandless police and agents with the Department of Homeland Security, went to Dacal’s home and executed the search warrant. Dacal claimed he left the laptop at his daughter’s home. They obtained a second search warrant and went to her home to seize the computer.
Dacal reportedly admitted to viewing teen chat websites, according to court documents.
“Even though Deacon Dacal is being charged in Washington County, I have also informed the Allegheny County District Attorney’s of his arrest since he lives and has served in Allegheny County,” Zubik said in his statement. “The charges against Deacon Dacal are disturbing. I have pledged to civil authorities the full cooperation of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in their investigation. We had no previous knowledge of his alleged activities.”
“The Diocese of Pittsburgh continues to work for the protection of children and young people and will not tolerate any behavior that puts them at risk,” Zubik added.
Dacal was released from in Washington County jail Wednesday afternoon. He is scheduled for an April 16 preliminary hearing before District Judge Jay Weller.