Ex-Georgia Priest Accused Of Molesting Boys In South Carolina

HARDEEVILLE, SC — A former parish priest at St. James Catholic School in Savannah, Georgia priest who served five years behind bars for sexually abusing two boys in Maryland was indicted on nine charges by a South Carolina grand jury.

A Jasper County grand jury last week charged Wayland Brown, 74, with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Brown molested two middle school-aged children in Jasper county in the late 1970s and 1980s while serving in the Savannah church, Solicitor Duffie Stone said in a news release. Both children attended St. James Catholic School in Savannah.

The alleged assaults happened at several locations in the area, including the intersection of Stiney and Morgan roads in Hardeeville in the "area surrounding the railroad tracks and depot areas." (For more information on Brown's case and other South Carolina stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Other alleged assaults happened at St. Anthony's Catholic Church and the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

Brown was ordained in the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, in July 1977 before moving on to Maryland. Pope John Paul II dismissed him from the priesthood in 2004 after his Maryland conviction.

The Diocese of Savannah paid $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit in 2016 by one boy who said Brown threatened eternal condemnation if he reported the abuse.

Court records didn't indicate if Brown had a lawyer. He remains in custody in Maryland.

By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press

Photo credit: Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office