A 67-year-old Catholic priest from Chicago has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child in Douglas County.
Father Richard James Kurtz was arrested in Chicago today and charged with sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, according to a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office media release.
The sheriff’s office special victims unit began investigating Kurtz in June when the Society of Jesus Chicago-Detroit Province notified Douglas County of alleged crimes that occurred in 2001.
A warrant was issued for the suspect’s arrest on Friday.
Kurtz was a chemistry teacher at the University of Detroit High School in Detroit at the time of the alleged Douglas County assault.
The victim was a male under the age of 18 at the time, the sheriff’s office said. The alleged assault did not have any connection to a Colorado church.
Kurtz was booked today into the Chicago jail on a $100,000 bond.
An investigation is on-going.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
