Found within the depths of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on priest sex abuse is a letter written by a former Diocese of Scranton bishop.

A priest raped a girl, got her pregnant, and arranged an abortion, according to the grand jury report. And then-Bishop James C. Timlin wrote a letter expressing his feelings: "This is a very difficult time in your life, and I realize how upset you are. I too share your grief."

But the letter was not for the girl. It was addressed to the rapist.

Father Thomas D. Skotek was ordained on June 8, 1963, in the Diocese of Scranton. He sexually assaulted a girl over the span of five years while serving as pastor of St. Casimir in Freeland, according to the report.

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The girl became pregnant, and Skotek aided her in obtaining an abortion, the grand jury report states.

Diocesan records showed that Timlin was fully aware of the conduct by October 1986, and shortly after accepted Skotek's resignation.

Skotek was then sent to St. Luke Institute in Maryland for an evaluation. In January 1987, Skotek was reassigned to ministry in Wilkes-Barre.

Two years later, Timlin sent a letter to Rome and reported that:

“A priest in the diocese has been rendered irregular as a result of having assisted in the procurement of a completed abortion…Although I cannot absolutely give assurance that this priest's criminal action will never become public, I do not foresee that such would likely be the case. This priest is currently residing in a parish quite far from the town where the crime was committed. He is awaiting a response to his request for a dispensation."

Timlin closed his letter with his "sincere hope" that he would receive a favorable response since such a response would be to the "spiritual benefit" of the priest involved as well as to the benefit of the "people of this diocese who heed the gifts he shares in priestly ministry," the grand jury report states.

Timlin said he was convinced of Skotek's sincere repentance and permitted Skotek to continue in ministry.

The grand jury noted that the focus of Timlin's letter seemed to exclusively address the procurement of the abortion with little concern that Skotek had impregnated a child.

On June 14, 2002, Skotek was finally removed from active ministry approximately two decades after he impregnated a minor and procured an abortion, according to the grand jury report.

He currently lives in Schuykill County, according to reports from the Times Leader.

Skotek wasn't the only priest of the 301 listed to have reportedly impregnated their victims. At least three other cases in the grand jury report disclose similar situations.

Here are their stories as outlined in the report.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW.

Father Robert J. Brague—Diocese of Scranton

On March 24, 1988, Timlin received an anonymous letter from a parishioner telling him that rumors were circulating about Father Robert J. Brague and a high school female. And almost three months later, that same anonymous parishioner sent a second letter to Timlin, advising him that the relationship between Brague and the teenage female was continuing. The parishioner stated that they assumed Timlin disregarded the previous letter and "did not have very much control over his priests."

The sister of the high school female sent Timlin a letter on Aug. 29, 1988, according to the grand jury report. She advised that Brague had had sexual relations with her 17-year-old sister, and she became pregnant.

Timlin responded to the letter and said that as soon as the matter was brought to his attention, Brague was removed from office. Timlin noted that it was better to say as little as possible about the circumstances surrounding his removal rather than cause greater scandal through undue publicity.

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In the letter, he further noted that, "Father Brague and your sister have a long, difficult road ahead...What has happened is their responsibility and certainly Father Brague will take care of his obligations."

The following April, the victim gave birth to a baby boy.

On Aug. 25, 1989, Timlin sent a letter to the Rev. John Nevins, Bishop of Venice, Florida, wherein he advised that Brague would no longer be able to exercise his priesthood in the Diocese of Scranton. Timlin wrote that he "wholeheartedly approved" of Brague exercising his priesthood in Venice though, the grand jury report states.

Brague was appointed Parochial Vicar of St. Ann's church in Naples, Florida January 19, 1990 — "effective immediately."

Seven years later, the victim requested that the Diocese of Scranton cover the cost of tuition, or eliminate the tuition charge altogether, in order for her son to attend St. Agnes School in Towanda. The victim was notified that her son would be able to attend the school and a scholarship was being arranged for him.

Father Joseph D. Flannery—Diocese of Scranton

The Diocese of Scranton received letters about Father Joseph D. Flannery' s affairs with girls between 1964 and 1966. He reportedly dated a girl, got her pregnant, and was seen on vacation in Atlantic City with her. Letters about Flannery's relationship with the girl were received from a member of the clergy, a parishioner and her mother, according to the grand jury report.

However, nothing was found in the file reflecting an investigation or questioning of the priest. The matter was not referred to the local District Attorney's Office.

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On May 6, 2016, the diocese sent a certified letter to each of the District Attorney's Offices within the diocese, including a list of all names of the priests against whom complaints of sexual abuse of minors had been made, the grand jury report states.

Flannery was included on that list.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW.

Father Raymond Lukac—Diocese of Greensburg

In the Diocese of Greensburg, Father Matthew Yanosek, the head pastor of the Holy Trinity parish, discovered that Father Raymond Lukac was involved with a 17-year-old girl.

According to the grand jury report, Yanosek made a verbal report to the diocese in the summer of 1956 about the matter. And by December 1956, Yanosek had learned that the relationship between Lukac and the girl had not stopped.

Concerned of possible scandal, Yanosek wrote a letter to Bishop Hugh Lamb.

Yanosek also told Bishop Lamb that he had found a wedding ring and a marriage certificate in Lukac' s room. The marriage certificate indicated that Lukac had married the girl on Nov. 20, 1956, at Holy Trinity Church.

It included the seal of the church and Yanosek's forged signature. It did not appear that this forged marriage certificate was associated with a formal, legal marriage though, according to the grand jury report.

The grand jury determined that the date of the marriage certificate was not coincidental. Nov. 20 was the date the woman turned 18.

Lukac eloped to Virginia with the woman in January 1957. By the date of the marriage, she was over 18, and the marriage was legal, according to the grand jury report.

Despite his elopement, Lukac returned to the church and, in July 1957, was sent for treatment and repentance at Foundation House in New Mexico.

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Following treatment, Lukac divorced the woman in December 1957. And according to several documents in Lukac's file, the woman gave birth to a child from Lukac.

So despite having sex with a minor, fathering a child, being married and being divorced, the priest was permitted to stay in ministry thanks to the diocese's efforts to find a "benevolent bishop" in another state willing to take him on, according to the report.

Lukac was granted the necessary permission to serve within the Diocese of Gary, Indiana.

Other instances in the grand jury report document women being raped by priests while they were pregnant, but do not clearly indicate if the priest was the person to father the child.