(File Photo of Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro)

HARRISBURG—Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that a Fayette County priest was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 5 years in state prison for repeatedly assaulting an 11-year-old altar boy starting in 2004 and continuing until the boy was 14.

“The bravery of this survivor helped us hold Andrew Kawecki accountable, and he will now go to prison for his unthinkable crimes,” said AG Shapiro. “My office will continue to seek justice and accountability for those who use their position of power and trust to prey on their communities.”

Andrew Kawecki was charged by the Office of Attorney General in August 2020 after a victim reported to investigators that Kawecki forced sexual encounters with the victim starting when he was 11 years old. The assaults continued for three years in the back room of St. Cyril and Methodius Church in Fairchance where Father Kawecki prepared for services before mass.

Kawecki was identified following the release of the Grand Jury on Clergy Sexual Abuse in 2018, but was not named within the report. The report has generated over 2,000 tips to the Office of Attorney General, including the information that led to this conviction.

Kawecki was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Linda Cordova of Fayette County. Upon his release from state prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years under Megan’s Law. This case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye.