Former Annandale priest charged with sexual abuse

Former priest Terry Specht [Complicit Clergy]

A former Annandale priest, Terry Specht, has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor. 

An indictment handed down by a grand jury on Dec. 20 charges Specht with indecent liberties and aggravated sexual battery. 

Specht’s trial is scheduled for October 2022. The 69-year-old former priest is retired and living in Donegal, Pa.

He had been assigned to Holy Spirit Church in Annandale from 2007 to 2012. Specht was director of the Office of Child Protection at the Catholic Diocese of Arlington from 2004 to 2011.

According to the indictment, Specht sexually abused a child under age 13 “by intentionally touching his intimate parts or material covering such intimate parts” in Fairfax County on or between March 1 and Sept. 30, 2000. During that  period, he also “unlawfully and feloniously, with lascivious intent” sexually abused a child under age 18 “over whom he maintained a custodial or supervisory relationship.” 

At the time of those incidents, he was chaplain and assistant principal at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. 

The Diocese of Arlington issued a statement noting that two separate allegations of sexual abuse were brought to the diocese, one in 2012 and the other in 2019. 

When he was accused in 2012, he was a priest at Holy Spirit Church and was placed on administrative leave. The accusation reportedly occurred in the late 1990s, when he was a parochial vicar at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax. 

Following the indictments, the diocese issued a statement noting it reported the allegations to law enforcement and formed a review board to conduct an investigation. “The Review Board found the allegation to be inconclusive, and law enforcement never brought charges related to the 2012 allegation,” the diocese states. “The diocese reported the 2019 allegation to law enforcement and was never notified as to the status of the investigation.” 

Specht’s role at the Office of Child Protection was as a policy administrator and instructor, the diocese reports. “He never oversaw the investigation of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor nor did he have a role in priestly assignments.” An investigation of that office and periodic background checks of Specht found no problems, the diocese states. 

The current felony charges against Specht stem from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s ongoing investigation into sexual abuse by clergy. 

“Children should always feel comfortable around religious leaders in their life, without fear that they could somehow hurt them,” Herring said. 

He urges anyone with information about clergy abuse to come forward, “no matter how long ago the incident occurred.” 

Victims can contact the Virginia Clergy Abuse Hotline, 1-833-454-9064, or report the abuse online to the Virginia State Police. 

The Diocese of Arlington urges anyone with relevant information about Specht to call the Fairfax County Police Department, 703-691-2131. Tips related to misconduct about anyone associated with the diocese should contact the organization’s victim assistance coordinator, 702-841-2530.