MONTPELIER, Ohio — Officials with the Williams County prosecutor’s office and Montpelier police said Tuesday they will open an investigation into a priest recently accused of sexually abusing a minor more than 25 years ago.
Williams County officials said the accusation stems from the Rev. Nelson Beaver’s time at Sacred Heart Parish in Montpelier, where he was pastor from 1984 to 1994. Father Beaver, 76, was pastor at 10 churches across northwest Ohio during his 42-year tenure, according to records from the Diocese of Toledo.
"At this point we would need information from the community," said Williams County Prosecutor Katherine Zartman, who encouraged anyone with information to come forward regardless of time passed.
“Even if they are from a long time ago, we would still check out the statute of limitations and other things,” she said.
She declined to provide a copy of the notification received from the diocese, citing the investigation.
Diocese officials placed Father Beaver on administrative leave after they said an allegation dating back more than 25 years ago was recently brought to light, according to a statement late Saturday. He will not perform his duties as pastor of Resurrection Parish in Lexington, Ohio, and St. Mary of the Snows Parish in Mansfield, Ohio, during this time, the diocese said.
Kelly Donaghy, spokesman for the Diocese of Toledo, said Tuesday the diocese “will cooperate fully with the investigation.”
The priest has denied the allegation, according to the diocese, which describes it as “the only such accusation against him.”
He was associate pastor at St. Paul the Apostle in Norwalk, Ohio, from 1976 to 1979; Most Blessed Sacrament, Toledo, from 1979 to 1981; St. John the Baptist, Toledo, from 1981 to 1984, and pastor at Sacred Heart, Montpelier, and St. Joseph, Blakeslee, Ohio, from 1984 to 1994; St. Mary, Norwalk, and St. Alphonsus Liguori, Monroeville, Ohio,/Peru Township, Ohio, from 1994 to 2004; St. Hyacinth, Toledo, from 2004 to 2005; Resurrection, Lexington, from 2005 to the present, and St. Mary, Mansfield, from 2010 to the present.
He was ordained June 5, 1976, according to diocesan directories.
When reached Tuesday by phone at Sacred Heart's sister parish, St. Patrick in Bryan, Ohio, before Williams County officials announced their investigation, Father Dave Tscherne confirmed that a notice about the allegations would be included in the upcoming weekend's bulletins at Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart parishioners were informed verbally of the allegations on Sunday. Father Tscherne said that parishioners there remember the priest, but did not have any noticeable reaction to the news.
He could not be reached for further comment after the prosecutor's announcement.
Those with information are asked to call Montpelier police at 419-485-3121.
Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.
First Published October 16, 2018, 9:16 p.m.
