Those who know the Rev. Gregory Premoshis say they know what to make of the recent allegations of sexual assault against the parish priest and school administrator.
They don't believe them.
"He was the nicest guy I ever met," said Jade Creasy, of Scottdale, who graduated from Geibel in June. "He was always there if you needed someone to talk to."
Premoshis took a leave of absence from Geibel in April after the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg initiated an investigation into 20-year-old allegations of sexual assault of a former male student.
The priest was barred for life from public ministry last month.
The lone official communication from the high school on the subject was a March 21 letter to students and their parents stating that Premoshis was leaving. The letter also asked them to respect his right to privacy.
The alleged victim of the assaults filed a complaint in federal court in Pittsburgh last week seeking an unspecified amount of damages in excess of $525,000.
Creasy, who graduated from Geibel in June, said Premoshis was always available if students needed to talk. Her brother will be a freshman this fall.
"He probably made (my faith) stronger," she said.
Gabe Centofanti, of South Union Township, Fayette County, and his three children could not believe the news that Premoshis had been accused of pedophilia. His youngest daughter, a Geibel senior and cheerleader, was very excited when she learned she was accepted into Premoshis' 12th-grade religion class. Juniors apply to take the class offered only to seniors.
Premoshis was known for his endless support of the beleaguered Geibel football team. And a trophy for the annual Geibel versus Greensburg Central Catholic matchup was named for him, Centofanti said.
Geibel teachers did not discuss the issue with students in class, which Creasy didn't agree with. She thought discussing the allegations against Premoshis would have been better than gossiping about him.
Centofanti said the school owed it to the students to tell them more than they did.
"We're talking about young adults. They should have gotten more information," he said.
Centofanti said he didn't believe the allegations against Premoshis for two reasons: He knew him to be a good man and teacher; And, Centofanti said, a high school student would be mature enough to know that he was being taken advantage of.
This was not an 8-year-old, he said.
"If Father Greg really did do that, he's changed. The fact that happened in his past, maybe he made up for it," Creasy said.
Although she didn't belong to his parish, Nellie Costabile, of Mt. Pleasant, often found herself sitting in the pews at Visitation Church on Sundays to listen to the gifted speaker. She grew up a couple of streets down from Premoshis.
He gave practical advice and helped make Mass more meaningful, Costabile said.
Creasy also said she enjoyed the priest's homilies — because they didn't put her to sleep.
Joni Rozell, of Mt. Pleasant, also lived down the street from Premoshis all her life. She has a hard time believing the accusations against her neighbor and fears the Catholic Church is losing some very good priests because of allegations in dioceses nationwide.
"I'm appalled," she said. "It's a shame this had to happen."
