From the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin

Former Episcopalian priest pleads guilty on sexual assault charges

Maximum of 20 years possible on each count

BY NANCY DOOLING •NDOOLING@GANNETT.COM • NOVEMBER 22, 2010, 8:30 PM

MONTROSE, Pa. -- A former Episcopal priest pleaded guilty Friday in Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas to sexually assaulting two teenage boys.

Ralph Johnson, 83, of Gibson Township, Pa., entered guilty pleas to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse lodged against him in two separate cases, according to the Susquehanna County District Attorney's office.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Johnson will be sentenced in March. Each conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

While ordained, Johnson served the churches of St. Paul's in Owego and Zion Church in Windsor.

Johnson was charged in February with 45 counts related to the sexual abuse of a boy at the former priest's residence in Susquehanna County, Pa. The charges stemmed from incidents between 1992 and 1995 at Johnson's Gibson Township house, police said. The victim was between the ages of 11 and 13 years old.

Johnson was rector of St. Paul's in Owego in the 1970s. He was deposed as a priest in 2006, after another priest brought complaints of sexual misconduct against young victims to the attention of the Central New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church.

However, the Rev. David G. Bollinger, rector of St. Paul's from 1985 to 2005, said he was rebuffed by his bosses at the Syracuse diocese after he reported complaints against Johnson years before Johnson was ultimately deposed.

Bollinger, now retired, said he has frequently been in contact with one of Johnson's victims.