PARKERSBURG- An Ohio Catholic priest charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio with abusing a boy in Roane County has no ties to the church in West Virginia, an official said.
Bryan Minor, executive director of communications and development for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, in Wheeling, said the priest, the Rev. Robert Poandl, was assigned to a church in Spencer for two weeks to cover for the parish priest who was on vacation in 1991.
Minor said in January 2010 the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston was made aware of allegations against Poandl. Minor said Poandl, of the Cincinnati-based Glenmary Home Missioners, has no connection to the diocese.
In 2010 the diocese was notified by Poandl's order, according to the 2010 press release.
"The notification was provided by the Glenmary Order and they did confirm that the complaint had been promptly reported to the appropriate authorities for investigation and the priest had been removed from ministry pending the investigation as required by Diocesan policy and the 2003 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," the release stated.
On Thursday, Poandl was accused of taking a 10-year-old boy to West Virginia for sex more than two decades ago and was jailed on Thursday after a federal indictment. In 2010, a judge in West Virginia dismissed charges that accused Poandl of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy while they visited a church there in 1991.
Poandl was in Butler County Jail in southwest Ohio following an order by a federal magistrate judge that he be taken into custody. Poandl voluntarily surrendered to the FBI after learning of the charge, Glenmary said in a statement.
An indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in Cincinnati, Wednesday accused Poandl of taking the boy on Aug. 3, 1991, but didn't list specifics.
A statement from Glenmary Home Missioners, a society of priests and brothers who say they're dedicated to establishing a Catholic presence in rural areas and small towns, said the indictment is related to a June 2009 accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor in Spencer, W.Va.
The Glenmary statement also said that the religious order has until Dec. 19 to provide documents and other information pertaining to Poandl to the U.S. attorney's office under a subpoena issued for them.
In February, Glenmary said it had relieved Poandl of ministerial duties in three Georgia communities and asked him to return to the Glenmary residence in Cincinnati.
Poandl has been living under what the order calls "a safety plan" at the Cincinnati residence and has not been functioning as a priest, Glenmary's statement said.
Glenmary president Father Chet Artysiewicz said the order could not comment on the investigation.
"We have just learned of these charges today, and we are working to fully comply with the subpoena and cooperate with investigators," Artysiewicz said in a statement.
Poandl's attorney declined to comment.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
