Apr 16, 2018 3 min read

A suspended deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh who was arrested last week by North Strabane Township police on child pornography charges waived his case to court Monday.

Rosendo Francis “Ross” Dacal, 73, of McCandless Township, who also served as a chaplain at Allegheny County jail, was arrested on charges of solicitation of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communications facility after he allegedly sent videos exposing himself to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old boy.

Bishop David Zubik issued a statement last 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.

Attorney Robert DelGreco, who represented Dacal at Tuesday’s proceeding along with attorney Peter Marcoline, said his client is devastated and his and his family’s lives have been turned upside down. Dacal is married and has a daughter and grandchildren.

“To say it has been topsy-turvy would be an understatement,” DelGreco said.

DelGreco called Dacal a “Renaissance man” who is fluent in five languages. He is also a retired attorney, former opera singer and mathematician. DelGreco said Dacal attended night classes at Duquesne University School of Law while working on a master’s degree.

DelGreco declined to discuss the merits of the case, saying they will take it up at trial.

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, McCandless police and agents with the Department of Homeland Security went to Dacal’s home. 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.

“The charges against Deacon Dacal are disturbing,” Zubik said in his statement last week. “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 remains free on $100,000 bond while awaiting trial.