Whitpain Pastor Should Be Considered Sexually Violent Predator: Board

WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP, PA — A former priest in Whitpain Township who was convicted of sexually abusing three children should be classified as a sexually violent predator, a board has advised ahead of his coming hearing.

Mark Hatcher, 61, of Blue Bell, will face a Montgomery County judge this week to determine how the state classifies him as a predator. That classification will have a significant influence over his potential eventual prison sentence and probation.

The previous recommendation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board comes after his conviction of more than a dozen felonies, including rape, statutory sexual assault, and indecent assault.

The incidents occurred between 2000 and 2008 in his Blue Bell home and at a church property in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, police said.

Court records show that after his 2022 arrest by Whitpain Township police, Hatcher was denied bail after his arraignment because the judge classified him as a "danger to the community."

Hatcher had previously worked at the Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center, also in Philadelphia.