From 2003: Father Bryan Kuchar was found guilty in 2003 of abusing a minor
Submitted on November 9, 2018
Father Bryan Kuchar, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, will be sentenced Friday, Nov. 7, after being found guilty last week of three counts of statutory sodomy.
Father Kuchar, 37, was found not guilty of three additional charges of statutory sodomy. All six charges related to sexual incidents in 1995 with a teenage boy, now 23, when Father Kuchar was an associate pastor at Assumption Parish in South County.
On Aug. 30 the jury recommended St. Louis County Circuit Judge John Ross sentence Father Kuchar to one year in the county jail for each one of the three counts for which he was convicted.
This was the second trial for Father Kuchar. A trial in May resulted in a hung jury. In accordance with archdiocesan policy, he remains on administrative leave.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis issued a statement Aug. 29 after the verdict: “The judicial process in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County has been completed with the decision of the jury in the criminal charges against Father Kuchar. We pray for the young man who brought the complaint to the civil authorities and for his family. May God grant them healing and peace now and in the future. We pray also for Father Kuchar.”
