Former priest arrested decades after allegedly sexually assaulting 2 altar boys in Tullytown

TULLYTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- It was approximately 20 years ago when Father Francis Trauger allegedly assaulted two boys.

Both of the victims were altar boys at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown, and both were under the age of 13, according to investigators.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub admits it's difficult not getting emotionally involved in cases like these.

"I can only imagine the shame and the horror they felt then, but those days are in the past. They're over. Trauger will pay for what he did to them," Weintraub said.

Michael McDonnell, of Bristol, understands what those victims endured. He says he was sexually assaulted by Trauger in 1981.

Trauger is named in the 2005 Philadelphia grand jury report about predator priests, but the allegations against Trauger came to light after the statute of limitations expired on those cases.

McDonnell said he still can't believe Trauger wasn't at least removed from the priesthood until 2003.

"Transferred eight times in his career. Six times to other later parishes after I was abused in 1981. Six more times he was transferred," McDonnell said.

And now that Trauger will finally face a judge, McDonnell has a message for the man who took his youth.

"You robbed a lot of life out of a good kid. I was a good kid. And I am going to watch you be brought to justice now," he said.

There have since been adjustments to the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania, so anyone who might have been assaulted by Trauger is asked to contact the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

Meanwhile, the former priest has been released on $250,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 10.