FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- A case against a Fort Worth priest accused of groping a man in September has been dropped. A 43-year-old man made the claims against Father Genaro Mayorga Reyes, a former Priest at the All Saints Catholic Church in Fort Worth. According to a police report, the man said Reyes sat next to him at a park picnic table across the street from the church and grabbed his genitals.
Reyes denied these claims. Bishop Michael Olson requested reyes to be recalled to Mexico after the alleged incident. Fort Worth Diocese spokesperson Pat Svacina said in a statement that Reyes will not be returning to the Fort Worth Diocese. He said Fort Worth Police notified Bishop Michael Olson and told him they believed the allegation to be credible. Bishop Olson requested the police report to make his final decision to remove Reyes. A court document doesn’t say why city prosecutors dismissed the case.
Read Svacina’s Full Statement here:
On background, the diocese has no knowledge of the status of the legal proceeding because it was a matter handle by the police.Here is the Diocese response:The Fort Worth Police Department issued an “assault by contact” citation to Father Genaro. After the incident, Fort Worth police officers requested a meeting with Bishop Olson because they felt it was important to inform him of the serious incident that they investigated and of the results of their investigation. The police officers told the bishop that they believed the allegation to be credible after investigation. The police officers recommended that the bishop make a records request to receive a copy of the police report in which the incident was detailed. The diocese did so and saw the allegations to which the police referred.Based on the information received from the police officers, Bishop Olson determined that the priest did not adhere to the Diocese’s code of conduct and thus asked the Provincial of Father Genaro’s religious order to recall him.You will have to contact his Franciscan order in Mexico to determine where he is. He is not returning to the Diocese.
