Diocese of Venice Priest Arrested for Lewd Conduct

A Diocese of Venice Catholic priest was arrested yesterday for exposure of sexual organs and battery. Rev. Bernard Chojnacki, stationed at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Port Charlotte was arrested in Caspersen Beach in Englewood.
Chojnacki, a native of Poland who studied for the priesthood at Orchard Park in Michigan, has been ordained since 2009. The priest will appear in court in July on the sex and battery charges.
This has been a difficult year for priests in the Diocese of Venice. In February, Carmelite priest William Wert, who had been living at a Carmelite retirement center in Venice, FL was arrested and charged with several counts of sex abuse of minors.