The former Beaver County district attorney named in the 900-page grand jury report into priest sex abuse in Pennsylvania is being investigated for allegations that he blocked inquiries into priests suspected of child abuse.
Current District Attorney David Lozier announced the investigation Wednesday into the official conduct of Robert Masters, 87. Masters has also been fired from his longtime position as solicitor for Children & Youth Services.
Masters was the solicitor for the social service agency for 38 years before being fired Wednesday. The agency’s mission is to protect children from abuse and neglect, preserve families and ensure every child under its care or supervision has a safe, permanent home.
Part of the grand jury report mentions Masters, saying he allegedly knew about sexual abuse in the 1960s and refused to prosecute for political reasons.
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On Wednesday, Masters told Channel 11’s Renee Wallace that the attorney general misinterpreted the information and that no crimes were committed in Beaver County, which is why he did not prosecute.
"Apparently, (accused priest Ernest Paone) was assigned in Beaver County years before, but was not assigned in 1964 when apparently there were attempts to abuse some young boys, but it wasn’t done in Beaver County," he said.
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Included in the report was a letter Masters sent to the then-bishop at the Pittsburgh diocese in which he wrote he was halting all investigations into similar incidents involving young boys to prevent "unfavorable publicity."
Masters said that letter was misunderstood.
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"The letter I wrote, unfortunately, I didn't do too good a job of explaining it," he told Channel 11.
When we asked him to explain it now, he said, "Well, the alleged violations did not take place in Beaver County."
He denied political motivations were behind the failure to prosecute.
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"No. What political help are you going to get from the diocese?" he said. "Tthat was my only political office and that was one term that I finished "
He said there was no crime in Beaver County, but there was abuse, so the case was turned over to the county juvenile probation office.
"No criminal case, as far as the county was concerned, but we believe this priest should get some help. That was the extent of it," he said.