Assignment Record:
| Dates | Assignment |
|---|---|
| Approx. 1965 | Ordained in the Diocese of Allentown |
| 1965 – 1966 | St. Peter Church, Coplay, PA |
| 1966 – 1971 | Sacred Heart Church, West Reading, PA |
| 1971 – 1973 | St. Catharine of Siena Church, Reading, PA |
| 1971 – 1978 | Holy Name High School, Reading, PA |
| 1971 – 1978 | “Adult Religious Education,” Berks County, PA |
| 1973 – 1974 | St. John the Baptist Church, Shillington, PA |
| 1974 – 1978 | St. Benedict Church, Reading, PA |
| 1978 – 1980 | St. Joseph Church, Summit Hill, PA |
| 1980 | “Sick Leave” (at Villa St. John Vianney Hospital) |
| 1980 – 1981 | Our Lady of Hungary Church, Northampton, PA |
| 1981 – 1986 | St. Catharine of Siena Church, Reading, PA |
| 1986 – 1989 | Good Samaritan Hospital (chaplain) |
| 1989 – 2005 | “On administrative leave;” whereabouts unknown |
Sources:
- Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, released by the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, dated July 27, 2018; and
- The Official Catholic Directory, Kenedy & Sons
According to the Grand Jury report, Father Soderlund was placed on administrative leave by the Diocese of Allentown in 1989 and was officially dismissed from the priesthood in 2005.
Summary:
- Father David Soderlund was accused of sexually abusing a male minor child on three occasions in approximately 1971 when the boy was approximately twelve years old. At the time of the sexual abuse, Father Soderlund was assigned as a priest of the Diocese of Allentown. Father Soderlund met and befriended the boy through a reading group Father Soderlund created in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. The sexual abuse by Father Soderlund took place during a twoweek camping trip where Father Soderlund took the boy and other minor children.
- The sexual abuse by Father Soderlund included the following: Father Soderlund fondled the boy’s penis, skin-on-skin, and performed oral sex on the boy. Father Soderlund also made the boy fondle Father Soderlund’s penis, skin-on-skin, and made the boy perform oral sex on Father Soderlund.
- The claim settled in April 2020 in the low six figures.
