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  Catholic Church Employee Accused of Soliciting Sex
A Spokeswoman with the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg Could Not Say Definitely Why the Man Was Hired, Given His Criminal History

By Jacob H. Fries
St. Petersburg Times [Dunedin FL]
September 22, 2005

DUNEDIN - A 50-year-old Dunedin man who supervised teens at a local Catholic church has been arrested on charges that he offered one boy $100 to perform a sex act, Pinellas County sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

The boy, who was doing court-ordered community service at the church, rebuffed the advances, but detectives are investigating whether William Forte had or tried to have inappropriate relations with other juveniles, said sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen.

Forte was employed at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Dunedin as a facility manager, according to a spokeswoman with the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Sheriff's officials said Forte also supervised the community service program at the church where he worked.

This is not the first time Forte has been accused of illicit behavior with teens. In 1992, Polk County deputies accused him of showing teens pornography, providing them with alcohol and paying them for sex, records show. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and received six months' probation.

The incident for which Forte was charged Tuesday took place in 2004, according to Pinellas sheriff's investigators.

Forte was supervising the teen and instructed him to follow him into the bathroom to clean it. There, Forte offered the boy money if he would perform a sex act, detectives said.

The allegation did not surface until August, when the boy's mother overhead him telling another friend not to do his community service at Forte's church, sheriff's officials said. The mother asked why and her son then revealed what had happened.

"The victim said he was very scared and embarrassed by the situation," McMullen said to explain why it took so long for the teen to report the incident.

"Mr. Forte has denied the allegation and said he is not guilty," said Vicki Well Bedard, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. "He has to gain his own counsel."

Bedard could not say definitely why Forte was hired, given his criminal history.

"Are we concerned?" she said. "Pastorally, we are concerned for anyone who has been victimized. We certainly hope that this was an isolated incident."

Bedard said extensive checks are performed for employees who have contact with children and vulnerable adults. She acknowledged state records would have revealed the 1992 charges.

"It should have come through," Bedard said. "Best guess is that it was 10 years old and most of the charges were dismissed, so it appears they decided to hire Mr. Forte."

Forte was hired at the church in the fall of 2003, working as a facility manager, Bedard said. His employment has been suspended pending the outcome of the case, she said. Bedard was unable to review Forte's employment file Wednesday.

"As far as I know, they had been very pleased with his work habits," Bedard said.

Anyone with information about Forte is asked to contact Detective Randall Jones of the Crimes Against Children Unit at (727) 582-6200.

 
 

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