No assault charge against married Arkansas priest following homosexual encounter

August 11, 2009

Local prosecutors announced that they will not file assault charges against Father Bradley Barber, a now-suspended priest who had been accused of sexually assaulting a young man in his early twenties. Father Barber, a former Episcopal Church cleric who converted to Catholicism and was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 under Pope John Paul II’s 1980 Pastoral Provision, is married and the father of four children

“There is little question that a sexual encounter took place,” wrote a local police officer in his investigation report. “(The accuser) alleged that this encounter took place as the result of physical force and spiritual coercion.”

 

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Further information:

• No Charges Filed Against Fayetteville Priest (Fayetteville Morning News)
• Father Barber suspended after allegation of sexual misconduct with an adult (Arkansas Catholic)
• Married Arkansas priest steps down following homosexual assault allegation (CWN, Aug 10)