The Diocese of Des Moines announced in a news release that the Rev. Paul Monahan was suspended on July 8 after the diocese learned of the investigation.
Monahan was charged with invasion of privacy by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which has not released details of the April incident.
According to the Omaha World-Herald newspaper, the statute under which Monahan was charged specifies that the invasion of privacy involves nudity and the viewing, photographing or filming of a victim. The charges, which are classified as serious misdemeanors.
Monahan was ordained in 1960 and retired in 2004. Afterward, he served as a senior chaplain at St. Albert Schools in Council Bluffs.
Monahan did not immediately return a message left Saturday by The Associated Press seeking comment.
(Staff and wire reports)