Charges Accuse Bransfield of Touching 9-year-old Girl
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Police in the nation's capital are investigating an allegation by a 16-year-old girl that Michael Bransfield, former bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, touched her inappropriately during a 2012 visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, The Washington Post reported.
Bransfield, questioned by the Post, denied the allegations strongly.
According to the Post, a subpoena delivered to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston on Thursday seeks information on any abuse complaints against Bransfield, as well as any documentation pertaining to a September 2012 pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The trip was led by Bransfield and was attended by parishioners from West Virginia.
The alleged victim told police that the incident occurred when she, 9 years old at the time, and Bransfield were alone in a room at the National Shrine, according to the Post.
Tim Bishop, director of marketing and communications for the diocese, said the diocese had been alerted to the claims and referred them to local police, per their policy.
"The diocese was made aware of a complaint against former bishop Bransfield of an incident alleged to have occurred in Washington, D.C., some years ago involving a minor, and it promptly reported the matter to the appropriate civil authorities in Washington, D.C.," Bishop told The Intelligencer. "As is the diocese's policy, it has deferred to such authority to pursue their investigation before invoking its own process. The diocese is cooperating with the investigation."
Bransfield has been the subject of two sexual harrassment lawsuits in recent months, most recently a suit filed on Sept. 13, which accused Bransfield of harassing a seminarian in 2015, just after his graduation from college. The suit accused Bransfield of having "repeatedly and inappropriately touched, caressed and stroked" the alleged victim's face and mouth, among other incidents. Another lawsuit against Bransfield was settled out of court in August.