Ex-Bucks Co. Priest Gets Prison For Molesting Altar Boys

TULLYTOWN, PA — A former Catholic priest who spent 10 years at a church in Lower Bucks County has been sentenced to prison for the sexual abuse of two altar boys.

Francis Trauger, 74, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of indecent assault of a person under 13. Judge Jeffrey L. Finley sentenced Trauger to serve 18 months to three years in state prison, followed by seven years of probation.

Known as "Father Frank," Trauger was a priest at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Tullytown.

Trauger was accused of molesting two altar boys, one in the mid-1990s and another in the early 2000s. The abuse happened while he was serving at St. Michael from 1993-2003.

"After evading justice for decades, this defendant is headed today to state prison for molesting two boys decades ago," said District Attorney Matthew Weintraub. "I hope the message to any other victims out there is clear: It is almost never too late to come forward to speak your truth."

According to the Bucks County District Attorney's office, the assaults happened when the victims were about 12 years old.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Trauger assaulted both of the boys during the robing process prior to mass at St. Michael. Trauger had been named in connection with other victims in a 2005 Philadelphia grand jury report and was laicized — or withdrawn from clerical duties by the church — that same year, authorities said.