David L. Poulson — Diocese of Erie
An Erie diocese priest named in Pennsylvania's 2018 grand jury report — one of only two priests statewide who could still be charged. He pleaded guilty in 2018 and was sentenced to 2.5 to 14 years.
Roman Catholic Pleaded guilty
- Person
- David L. Poulson
- Role
- Priest
- Institution
- Diocese of Erie
- Location
- Fryburg and Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania
- Status
- Pleaded guilty (October 17, 2018)
- Sentence
- 2½ to 14 years (January 2019); defrocked
Case in brief
Tier 1 · Court-proven
David L. Poulson was a priest of the Diocese of Erie. He was one of only two priests, out of more than 300 named in Pennsylvania’s 2018 grand jury report, against whom criminal charges were still possible — in almost every other case the statute of limitations had expired or the priest was dead. Poulson was charged in May 2018 with sexually assaulting two boys, ages 8 and 15 at the time, repeatedly in rectories at St. Michael’s, Fryburg, and St. Anthony of Padua, Cambridge Springs, and at a hunting cabin. On October 17, 2018, he pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children (third-degree felonies) and was sentenced in January 2019 to 2½ to 14 years. He agreed to seek laicization and was defrocked.
The institution
The Diocese of Erie, one of six Pennsylvania dioceses examined by the 2018 statewide grand jury using the dioceses’ own “Secret Archives.” The grand jury’s cover-up findings are set out on The Pattern page.
The record
Tier 1 · Court-proven
- Charges (May 2018): sexual assaults of two boys at parish rectories and a hunting cabin.
- Plea (October 17, 2018): guilty to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.
- Sentence (January 2019): 2½ to 14 years; laicization agreed; defrocked.
The grand-jury presentment stated that Poulson required one victim to confess the assaults to him in confession. A presentment is a charging document; it is recorded here as part of the documented record of the case, and the plea is the adjudicated outcome.
Status
Pleaded guilty; sentenced; defrocked. This case is the exception inside the Pennsylvania report — the rule was that limitations barred charges (see The Pattern).
Records requested & responses
This archive has not filed records requests in this case. The file rests on the published sources below and will be updated if court or institutional records are obtained, or if that changes.
Sources
- Gant News, “Catholic priest pleads guilty to sexual offenses against two boys in Diocese of Erie” (October 17, 2018): gantnews.com
- Explore Jefferson PA, “Former priest in Jefferson County child sex abuse case defrocked by Vatican” (March 15, 2019): explorejeffersonpa.com
Filed October 18, 2026, from the published sources below. Minor victims are never named or identified in this file.