LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A former priest at a Catholic church in northern Virginia, who was arrested in New Jersey in 2020, has been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor after entering an Alford plea.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on Monday, Dec. 12 that 65-year-old Scott Asalone was convicted in Loudoun County Circuit Court of felony carnal knowledge of a minor between 13 and 15 years old.
The abuse took place in the summer of 1985, when Asalone was 29 and working as a priest at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in the Purcellville area.
According to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Asalone was removed from public duties in 1993 and was removed from his religious order, the Capuchin Friars, in 2007.
Asalone was arrested in New Jersey and extradited to Virginia in March of 2020, about a year after it was revealed that him and at least a dozen other priests were identified by the Arlington Diocese as having been “credibly accused of abuse.”
Following the announcement of Asalone’s arrest in 2020, David Grosso, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who was a member of the Council of the District of Columbia at the time, publicly identified himself as the victim, saying in a statement; “The minor he assaulted was me.”
Asalone faces a maximum prison term of ten years, he is set to be sentenced on April 13, 2023.
“Every victim deserves to be heard. My office is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those who prey on children to the fullest extent of the law. Virginia has no tolerance for child molesters. I encourage anyone who has been a victim of clergy abuse to contact the Virginia State Police, as it’s never too late to fight for justice,” said Attorney General Miyares.