Lottery-Winning Ex-Priest Charged With Sex Abuse

A once-popular priest who won more than $1 million in the New York Lottery is now earning attention for an entirely different reason.

Joseph Faraone  was charged Friday with a sex crime in Putnam County, New York, the Journal News reported.

Faraone, 68, is accused of sexual contact  with a 50-year-old woman who was unable to consent, according to the Southeast-Brewster Patch.

Faraone, who retired from the clergy several years ago, was working for a human services organization when the alleged encounter with a patient occurred, the Patch wrote.

Second-degree criminal sexual act  and first degree sexual abuse each carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison upon conviction, the Putnam County Courier noted. 

Faraone served in various parishes in New York state, including 12 years with St. James Church in Carmel.

“I am so disappointed ," one St. James worshiper goer told the Courier. "Everyone loved Father Faraone when he served here and we were sad when he was reassigned.”

According to Associated Press, Faraone won a $1.17 million lottery payout  in 1985 while at the Church of St. Patrick in Yorktown.

H/T USA Today

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