Priest pleads innocent to molestation
Rev. Clark accused of abusing two boys while visiting family

By Deborah Yetter

August 9, 2002 - The Rev. Daniel C. Clark, a Roman Catholic priest removed from public ministry following a 1988 sex-abuse conviction, pleaded innocent yesterday in Bullitt District Court to charges he molested two brothers, ages 11 and 12.

The Rev. Daniel C. Clark wiped his eyes yesterday before his arraignment in Bullitt District Court. PHOTO BY PATTI LONGMIRE

Clark, 54, in handcuffs and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, stood silently beside his lawyer, David Lambertus, who entered the plea.

Lambertus said Clark waived his right to a preliminary hearing in district court, allowing his case to proceed directly to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Bullitt County Attorney Walter Sholar said he had no objection.

Judge Bailey Taylor set Clark's bond at $500,000 cash, reducing the amount from the $2 million set when Clark was arrested.

As he waited for his case to be called, Clark sat silently with seven other prisoners, his hands clasped and his head bowed.

After the hearing that lasted a few minutes, Clark was returned to jail. Lambertus wouldn't comment as he left the courthouse.

Bullitt County Jailer Danny Fackler said yesterday afternoon that Clark had not posted bond and remained housed separately from other inmates.

''He's doing fine,'' Fackler said.

Fackler said it's not unusual to house new inmates separately -- especially those facing a serious charge such as sexual abuse -- to help ensure their safety. After 72 hours, jail officials will re-evaluate Clark and decide whether he could be placed with the general jail population, Fackler said.

Clark was arrested Wednesday on charges he sexually abused two boys from 1998 through May of this year while visiting a family in Shepherdsville.

Shepherdsville Police Chief Ronald Morris said Clark was a friend of the family and the allegations weren't linked with any church or school.

The boys are related to a man who has sued the Archdiocese of Louisville, alleging Clark abused him when he was a boy, said the man's lawyer, Richard Shapero.

Clark was removed from all public ministry in 1988 after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys in the early 1980s while he was at St. Rita parish in Louisville.

In 14 lawsuits filed against the archdiocese, Clark is accused of sexually abusing boys at St. Rita, St. Dominic and St. John Vianney parishes.

Clark becomes the second priest from the archdiocese to face criminal charges in a sexual abuse case this year.

The Rev. Louis Miller, 71, was indicted June 26 by a Jefferson County grand jury and charged with abusing 15 children. An Oldham County grand jury on July 18 charged Miller with abusing another eight children in that county.