UPDATED: Two Men Indicted and Charged in Sexual Abuse Case
Two men have been indicted on multiple charges of sexual abuse of a juvenile between 1994 and 1996. Attorney General Kathy Jennings says the victim suffered profound trauma over a period of years. An anonymous report to the Diocese of Wilmington and investigation by Wilmington Police found evidence that 80 year old Father John Taggart and the late Father John Francis O’Brien abused a victim during their 7th and 8th grade years at St Thomas the Apostle School and continued after the victim began high school. Taggart was a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle from 1987 to 1998. In January of 1999 he was sent to St. John the Apostle in Milford, and in January of 2001 was sent to St. Helena’s in Wilmington. Taggart resigned from active ministry in 2004 and currently resides in Georgia. Â
The investigation also uncovered allegations of abuse of the same victim by 57 year old Christopher Crisona, a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School. Crisona worked as a teacher at St. Thomas for the 1994-1995 school year and part of the 1995-1996 school year. He was removed mid year following a student complaint, later working at St. Matthew’s in Wilmington (1999), Corpus Christi (1999), and St. Hedwig’s (2000). He currently works as an elementary school teacher in Florida. Â
Taggart is charged with the following offenses:
- continuous sexual abuse of a child
- dangerous crime against a child – 2 counts
- 3rd degree unlawful sexual penetration- 2 counts
- 1st degree unlawful sexual intercourse-4 counts
- 2nd degree unlawful sexual contact
Crisona is charged with the following offenses:
- 2nd degree unlawful sexual contact
- 1st degree unlawful sexual intercourse-3 counts
- 3rd degree unlawful sexual penetration
- 2nd degree unlawful sexual contact
- continuous sexual abuse of a child
Extradition is pending for both men.  The DOJ is seeking other potential victims – contact 302-577-5293 or ReportAbuse@delaware.gov
From the Diocese of Wilmington:
A former priest and a former teacher of the Diocese of Wilmington have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse occurring between 1994 and 1996. John Taggart, 80, and Christopher Crisona, 57, are charged with several felonies following an investigation into a report of abuse by the Delaware Department of Justice. The investigation began when the Diocese of Wilmington received an anonymous complaint and reported it to law enforcement.
John Taggart was arrested in Georgia on Friday, March 14, 2025. Taggart was indicted by a Delaware grand jury on March 3rd on 10 counts pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor from the mid 1990’s while Taggart was a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle in Wilmington, DE. John Taggart resigned from priestly ministry in 2004 and moved out of state.
Additionally, Christopher Crisona of Orlando, Florida was also arrested and taken into custody after being indicted by a Delaware grand jury on March 3rd on 7 counts pertaining to sexual abuse of a minor during a similar time frame. In the mid-90s, Crisona was working as a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School. St. Thomas the Apostle School closed in 2008.
In keeping with policy, the Diocese of Wilmington has been and will continue to cooperate with the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.
Anyone who has experienced any form of abuse by clergy or any lay person working or volunteering in Catholic parishes or schools in Delaware or Maryland’s Eastern Shore are urged to contact the Delaware Department of Justice at (302) 577-5293 or ReportAbuse@delaware.gov or contact the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office for their county, to provide information to prosecutors and investigators.