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Ex-altar boys sue Pittsburgh diocese alleging priest abuse

  • The Associated Press

 Keith Srakocic / AP Photo

(Pittsburgh) — Two former altar boys have filed suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh over allegations that a priest sexually abused them in the 1980s.

The Tribune-Review reports the suit was filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Court. It also names Bishop David A. Zubik and St. Alphonsus Church in McDonald as defendants.

The plaintiffs say they endured almost daily abuse by the Rev. Francis Pucci, starting in 1981 when they were 11 and 13.

Pucci is named in a Pennsylvania grand jury report that alleged abuse by hundreds of predator priests. The suit says Pucci was investigated in 1988 but avoided prosecution due to the statute of limitations. He died in 2002.

The suit accuses the diocese of covering up the abuse.

A diocesan spokeswoman says she can’t comment on pending litigation.

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