Retired Catholic Priest Charged in Missouri With Sex Abuse

A retired Catholic priest has been charged in Missouri with multiple counts of child sexual abuse stemming from a statewide investigation of Catholic priest abuse.

Seventy-six-year-old Frederick Lutz was charged Tuesday with forcible sodomy, sexual abuse and two counts of statutory sodomy. His bond was set at $125,000 cash only. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

He was among 12 former priests that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt referred for criminal prosecution following a 13-month investigation of religious leaders within the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Springfield-Cape Girardeau and Jefferson City.