Assignment Record– Rev. G.R. Keith Albrecht

Summary of Case: G.R. Keith Albrecht was was ordained for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1977. Prior to that, in the early 1970s, he was a Franciscan friar preparing for solemn vows when the Order voted him out. As a Cincinnati archdiocesan priest, Albrecht assisted in parishes in Beavercreek, Xenia, and Coldwater OH, where he was named pastor in 1987. He also spent a year as a hospital chaplain in Dayton.

In 1986 Albrecht took nude photos of a "young man," who then tried to blackmail him for money. Despite knowledge of this incident, the archdiocese elevated him to pastor the following year. In 1993 Albrecht was placed on leave after a man alleged molestation as a minor by Albrecht in the 1970s in Beavercreek. A second person subsequently came forward with allegations that Albrecht had molested him when he was an 8th grader in the late 1980s, during a trip with the priest to New York. Albrecht admitted to sexual behavior with youths, explaining that he thought he was acting "out of love." He would reach out to troubled adolescent males, then molest them. At least two lived with him for a time in the rectory of his Coldwater parish. In 2004 a man filed suit against Albrecht and the archdiocese with claims of abuse 1977-1981, when the man was a 14 to 17-year-old boy. The suit was dismissed in 2006 due to a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that victims must file suit before the age of 20. Albrecht was laicized in 2005.

Ordained: 1977
Laicized: 2005

1977

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Archbishop was Joseph Louis Bernardin (1972-1982).

Beavercreek

• Albrecht "essentially conceded" in 1993 to molesting a boy during his time at St. Luke's. A man filed suit in 2004, claiming the priest abused him when he was 14 to 17 years-old, from 1977 to 1981.

St. Luke's had a school, grades 4-8, with 330-384 students.

Albrecht was a Franciscan friar preparing for solemn vows in the early 1970s, when the Order expelled him.

1981

Bernardin was succeeded by Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (1982-2009)

Coldwater

• In 1993, after publicity that Albrecht had molested a boy in the 1970s, another person came forward with allegations. This accuser said that Albrecht molested him in the late 1980s when he was a Shelby County OH 8th-grader and Albrecht was assigned to Holy Trinity. The abuse is said to have occurred during a trip to New York City.

Holy Trinity had a religious education program with 988-1,112 students.

Albrecht was placed on leave after two people alleged he sexually abused them as boys, one in the 1970s, the other in the late 1980s. Of the abuse Albrecht stated, "I believed I was acting out of love."

Albrecht reached out to troubled teen-age boys, offering help, then molesting them. He later admitted he "deluded" himself in not seeing as abuse his behavior of fondling and masturbating the boys.

Albrecht allowed a 17-year-old boy, who had runaway from home, live and sleep with him in Holy Trinity's rectory for six months. He was one of two youths known to have lived in the rectory with Albrecht.

In 1986 Albrecht took nude photos in the rectory of a "young man," who subsequently tried to blackmail the priest. Albrecht said the archdiocese reprimanded him after learning of the incident. He was made pastor the following year.

Albrecht is not indexed beyond the 2002 Directory.

In 2002 Albrecht admitted to sexual contact with "about four" boys, as young as age 16. He also said he had been sexually involved with numerous adult males.

Albrecht's laicization by the Vatican was announced in October 2005.

The lawsuit filed in 2004 was dismissed in 2006, due to a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that victims must file before the age of 20.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1978-2002).

• Pedophile Priest: 'I Believed I Was Acting out of Love, By Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News (Ohio), May 5, 2002
• Policy Shift Could Oust Eight Area Priests, By Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News (Ohio), June 27, 2002
• Man Sues Former Beavercreek Priest, By Amelia Robinson, Dayton Daily News (Ohio), March 5, 2004
• 2 Priests Restored, Others Permanently Removed, Press Release from Dan Andriacco, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 12, 2005
• Former Area Priest Defrocked, By Jim Bebbington, Dayton Daily News [Ohio], October 13, 2005
• Lawsuits in Sex-Abuse Case by Priests Withdrawn, By Ben Sutherly, Dayton Daily News [Ohio], June 23, 2006

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Albrecht's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on August 23, 2016.