A former Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony crimes in connection with repeated sexual assaults against one boy and the attempted assault of another boy.

David Poulson pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children -- third-degree felonies -- in a hearing in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court. Poulson was arrested and charged in May by the Office of Attorney General.

The victims were eight and 15 years old at the time of the acts committed against them.

“Poulson assaulted one of his victims in church rectories,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “He made that victim go to confession and confess the abuse – to Poulson. He used the tools of the priesthood to further his abuse.”

Poulson was charged earlier this year by a Statewide Investigating Grand Jury probing widespread sexual abuse by clergy against children in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, including the Diocese of Erie.

A grand jury found that Poulson sexually assaulted one victim repeatedly in church rectories at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Fryburg and Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Cambridge Springs. The abuse at the rectories usually happened on Sundays – after the victim served as an altar boy at Mass. These assaults took place more than 20 times.

Poulson required this victim to make confession to the sexual assaults – to Poulson, who heard the boy’s confession.

Poulson also assaulted this victim and attempted to assault a second victim at a remote hunting cabin that he owned with a friend in Jefferson County. In an effort to assault them, Poulson would bring the youths to the cabin and watch horror movies with them on his laptop.

Shapiro says that since at least May 2010, the Diocese of Erie knew of Poulson’s sexual predator tendencies – but did nothing to report him to authorities until September 2016, in response to a subpoena from the grand jury. In a May 24, 2010 secret memorandum – hidden in church archives for six years – Poulson admitted to being “aroused” by a boy and sharing suggestive texts with numerous other boys.

Poulson was assigned to various parishes during his tenure as a priest in the Diocese of Erie. His assignments included serving as Pastor of St. Agnes in Morrisdale, St. Michael’s in Fryburg, St. Anthony of Padua in Cambridge Springs, and St. Bernadette in Cambridge Springs.