Judge rejects plea deal for suspended Indianapolis priest in minor sex abuse case

HAMILTON COUNTY — A Hamilton County judge on Thursday rejected a plea deal for a suspended Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in 2016.

Hamilton Superior Judge Michael Casati rejected the agreement that would have allowed David Marcotte to plead guilty to one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minor, a level 6 felony.

In exchange, Hamilton County Prosecutor D. Lee Buckingham II's office would have dismissed charges of child solicitation and vicarious sexual gratification.

Marcotte now faces trial on the three felony counts. Casati scheduled a jury trial for Oct. 10.

"We're just pleased with the results and that this guy is actually going to have to stand trial for his sins and crimes," the father of the now 19-year-old victim told WRTV in a telephone interview. WRTV is not naming the father because the station does not typically identify alleged victims of sexual abuse.

The boy was 14 and 15 when Marcotte allegedly texted him inappropriate photos and engaged in sexual conduct via social media platforms, court documents say.

Marcotte met the boy in 2016 when he worked at St. Malachy Church and School in Brownsburg. The abuse allegedly happened in 2017 and 2018, according to a probable cause affidavit.

At the time, Marcotte was also assigned to St. Martin of Tours Parish in Martinsville. He was serving as a chaplain at Roncalli High School, the University of Indianapolis and provided sacramental assistance at Saints Francis and Clare Parish in Greenwood when the Archdiocese of Indianapolis suspended him from the priesthood in 2019.

Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.