Monsignor Dale Fushek has been freed from the house arrest and electronic monitoring imposed upon him after being arrested on sex abuse charges. The scandal surrounding Fushek erupted late last year after his arrest on sex abuse charges. The Phoenix diocese has been no stranger to scandal in the past. It’s bishop Thomas O’Brien was arrested after killing a pedestrian in a motor vehicle accident and fled the scene. O’Brien later resigned as bishop of the diocese.

No stranger to legal difficulties and national news lately, the Bishop recently acknowledged that he allowed priests who were accused of sexual misconduct to work with children. He also admitted that on many occasions he had transferred priests who might have been accused of sexual misconduct to protect them. He has since provided reams of documents to Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. The County Attorney and the Bishop came to an agreement that in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution, Bishop O’Brien would create a special unit within the Diocese to handle matters relative to allegations of sexual misconduct. According to Alan Cooperman of the Washington Post, “The prosecutors described the agreement, signed on May 3 by Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien, as the most serious legal admission of personal wrongdoing by a Catholic prelate since the sexual abuse scandal erupted in the United States.”