Former priest Edward Olszewski is now free on $10,000 bail after being arrested at his Key Largo home last Friday on charges of possessing sexually explicit material in violation of his probation.
Olszewski, originally a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, worked in the Archdiocese of Miami as a parish priest for many years. He was pastor of St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church in December 2002 when he was convicted of 4 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor who was 11 at the time the abuse occurred.
This is an important case because it highlights how these priest sex offenders are not always being tracked. Of course, Olszewski was tracked and that ultimately led to his arrest last week. However, I’m concerned with the thousands of priests who’ve sexually victimized minors but have never been convicted because the criminal statute of limitations has expired. They remain free to continue to victimize and prey on our children. That seems to be the true injustice.