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Former Norfolk Catholic school teacher pleads guilty to crimes against nature charges

Posted at 6:26 AM, Oct 24, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-24 13:21:50-04

A former Norfolk Catholic High School teacher that was arrested in April 2019 pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to crimes against nature charges against him, which stem from sexual abuse claims from decades ago.

Daniel M. Wolfe

The former employee, Daniel M. Wolfe, who worked for the Diocese of Richmond for 11 years as a teacher in the 70s to early 80s, pleaded guilty to four counts of crimes against nature and will be sentenced on January 21, 2020.

Cornell Law School defines Crime Against Nature as "sexual practices deemed deviant or not natural by a legislature or a court."

The incidents were reported to have occurred between 1978-1979, which was when the victim was a student at what was previously known as Norfolk Catholic High School.

The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is asking for a psych-sexual examination be done before his sentencing.

While Wolfe would have been able to receive at most 20 years in prison for his crimes (by today's sentencing standards), he can only be sentenced to between one and 5-years due to the crimes happening decades ago, when sentencing was different.

In respects to diocesan policy, the adult individual was encouraged to report the allegation to the Norfolk Police Department. The Diocese of Richmond recently was informed that the accused was arrested and charged by Norfolk Police.

In recent years, Wolfe was a Latin teacher at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia Beach for part of the 2017-2018 school year.

The Diocese of Richmond urges individuals who have been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious, lay employee or volunteer of the diocese to report abuse directly to law enforcement, including Child Protective Services at (800) 552-7096 and by calling the Attorney General’s Clergy Abuse Hotline at (833) 454-9064.

You may also contact the 24-hour confidential Victim’s Assistance Reporting number at (877) 887-9603 or email vac@richmonddiocese.org to report sexual abuse.

Related: Catholic Church releases list of local clergy with 'substantiated' sexual assault allegations