Here Are The 6 Doylestown Priests On The 'Credibly Accused' List

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, recently released the most comprehensive list so far of Catholic clergy "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. The list includes six accused abusers with ties to Doylestown.

All six have either passed away or have been permanently restricted from the priesthood due to the allegations.

The searchable database — which includes hundreds of priests accused from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as well as dioceses in Scranton, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and more — comes on the heels of a grand jury report that revealed hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

RELATED: Full List Released Of PA Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

Here are the six priests on the ProPublic list with Doylestown ties:

Gerard J. Hoffman

Hoffman served as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Doylestown from 2002 to 2008.

In 2008, the Archbishop of Philadelphia removed Hoffman of his assignment pending an investigation into an allegation that he sexually abused a child more than 30 years ago. During the investigation, the Archdiocese received a second allegation of abuse, which was substantiated. "Father Hoffman has agreed to accept a supervised life of prayer and penance," CatholicPhilly.com reported in 2008.

Mark J. Haynes

Haynes, also laicized, served as the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel from 1989 to 1991. He also served as the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Southampton until 2000. Haynes was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2016 after being convicted on federal sex abuse charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Haynes posed as a 15-year old girl on Instagram. Haynes would attempt to connect with young teenage girls online, engage in sexual chats, and send them child pornography photos and videos, with the hopes of getting them to send sexually explicit pictures of themselves, authorities said.

William Joseph

Joseph was the assistant pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel from 1966 to 1971. He is now deceased. He also served as pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bensalem. He too was called on to a "life of prayer and penance" prior to his death in 2013.

Edward M. DePaoli

DePaoli, who served as the assistant pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel from 1970 to 1975, has since been laicized.

William J. Dougherty

Dougherty, the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel from 1994 to 1996, was laicized following allegations of sexual abuse.

Gerard W. Chambers

Chambers, who is deceased, was the assistant pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel from 1944 to 1945.

The Pennsylvania grand jury investigation, which prompted ProPublica's project, was described by the Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.

RELATED: 300 PA Priests Sexually Abused 1,000 Children: Grand Jury

In one case, after a priest confessed to anal and oral rape of at least 15 boys, a bishop who later met with him commended him as "a person of candor and sincerity."

Another priest who was "grooming his middle school students for oral sex," was accused by several victims before he was removed 15 years later, the grand jury found.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report was pivotal in spurring dioceses around the country to release lists of abusers associated with their churches, ProPublica said.