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Iowa court dismisses sexual abuse charges against former Port Charlotte priest

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Iowa court dismisses sexual abuse charges against former Port Charlotte priest

The court dropped sexual abuse charges against Father Leo Riley, a former Port Charlotte priest accused of sexually abusing four victims during his time at an Iowa church in the 1980s.The decision came after two motions were filed:Motion to dismiss the charges because the statute of limitations has expiredMotion to suppress evidence based on the state’s unethical and unconstitutional conductA hearing for the latter motion had been scheduled for Monday, but was canceled, according to court documents. The case was dismissed shortly afterward.On April 24, Father Riley, 68, was arrested on multiple counts of sexual assault related to his previous work at a church in Dubuque, Iowa.Four Iowa victims said they were sexually abused by Riley while serving as an altar boy in the mid-1980s, and one victim from Port Charlotte publicly said Riley physically and sexually abused him in the early 2000s. In May, Riley made his first court appearance and posted $500,000 bail after being charged on Monday with five counts of sexual assault. Riley denied the allegations and passed two lie detector tests administered by former FBI special agents, Riley’s attorney said. After the charges were officially dropped, the state of Iowa said the victims would not have the opportunity to testify against Riley, stressing that the law would need to be changed for similar cases in the future.

DUBUQUE, Iowa —

The court dropped sexual abuse charges against Father Leo Riley, a former Port Charlotte priest accused of sexually abusing four victims during his time at an Iowa church in the 1980s.

The decision was preceded by two applications:

  • Application for dismissal of the action due to statute of limitations
  • Motion to suppress evidence based on the unethical and unconstitutional conduct of the state

According to court documents, a hearing on the latter motion was scheduled for Monday, but it was canceled and the case was dismissed shortly afterward.

On April 24, Father Riley, 68, died was arrested for multiple sexual assaults in connection with his previous work at a church in Dubuque, Iowa.

Four victims from Iowa claimed that Riley sexually abused them as an altar boy in the mid-1980s, and one from Port Charlotte publicly stated that Riley had physically and sexually abused him in the early 2000s.

Riley appeared in court for the first time in May and was ordered to post $500,000 bail after being charged with five counts of sexual abuse on Monday.

Riley denied the allegations and passed two separate polygraph tests given by former FBI special agents, Riley’s attorney said.

The state of Iowa stated that the victims had no opportunity to testify against Riley after the charges were officially dismissed and stressed that the law would need to be changed for similar cases in the future.

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