http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070730/NEWS/70730015

KIRKLAND – A pastor at Resurrection Assembly of God in Kirkland was indicted last week for allegedly touching a 7-year-old girl at this residence, according to Oneida County Court records.

The Rev. William Procanick, 53, is due to be arraigned Aug. 7 on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child stemming from an incident that prosecutors say occurred at his Kirkland Avenue residence in March.

According to the grand jury indictment, Procanick placed his hand on the young girl’s buttocks and inner thigh.

Procanick is currently free on $5,000 bail, but it is not yet known whether he is still serving as the church’s pastor.

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached this afternoon.

Procanick’s attorney, George Aney, said that his client denies any “impermissible touching” whatsoever.

It is not known whether the girl’s family were parishioners at the church, but Aney said the girl’s mother did attend church services from time to time.

Procanick and his wife first became familiar with the girl around April 2005, when they offered to help the girl’s family as her mother worked to improve her life, Aney said. The girl then became a frequent guest at their house.

Around the time the incident was alleged to have occurred, the girl and her sister did spend the night with Procanick when a basement flooded at the girls’ home, Aney said. The girls’ residence was also without heat, he said.

During that time, however, nothing wrongful occurred, Aney said.

“So far as I’m concerned, what we’ve been able to ascertain at this point is that he looked out for any child or person who was in need of any kind of help or assistance, and he was simply performing his pastoral duties,” Aney said. “He denies any wrongdoing.”

An order of protection has been issued for Procanick to stay away from the girl, and he has not had any contact with the family since, Aney said.

At this point, Procanick is concerned that anybody would view what he allegedly did as being inappropriate, Aney said.

“Any allegation or charge – true or not true – in some people’s minds, it places a cloud over the alleged perpetrators. It’s that simple, and that’s the way life is,” Aney said. “As long as no sexual act is even alleged, like every other person, he’s presumed innocent until proven otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.”