AUSTIN, TEXAS (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge after he was accused of groping a woman in home hospice care while giving her last rites.
The Rev. Gerold Langsch, of Austin, was arrested Thursday and charged with assault by contact stemming from the October encounter. The 75-year-old priest is free on $15,000 bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined up to $4,000.
Police contend in the arrest affidavit that the woman was in hospice care for complications from diabetes when Lansch went to her home to administer the sacrament of anointing the sick, a sacrament of absolution. The woman, who is still alive, reported that he fondled her breast and tried to grope her inside her adult diaper but failed.
