BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The cases against two former seminarians within the Buffalo Diocese have been dismissed.
According to court documents, Buffalo City Court Judge Kevin Keane granted motions to dismiss disorderly conduct, harassment and trespass charges against Matthew Bojanowski and Stephen Parisi on January 25, 2021.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced in January 2020 that Bojanowski, then 38, and Parisi, then 46, had been charged with harassment following a September 2019 incident. The DA's Office had accused them of preventing a woman from leaving the parking lot of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo by yelling at her and standing in her way.
However, according to court documents, there was not sufficient evidence to prove the defendants were in the parking lot. A witness deposition stated that Bojanowski and Parisi were seen "running on the sidewalk toward the gated area."
In addition, the disorderly conduct and harassment charges were dismissed against Bojanowski and Parisi. The judge found that the state's case failed to prove the alleged incident was part of a course of conduct of harassment. No evidence was presented to show the intent to cause threat to "public safety, peace, or order."
