(OSV News) — A Kansas priest and former pastor at several parishes has been arrested on several charges of child sexual abuse.
Father Ryan A. McCandless, a priest of the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, was taken into custody shortly after 5 p.m. July 22 at a residence in Wichita.
The arrest was made by Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents, assisted by the Sedgwick County Fugitive Warrant Unit, according to a KBI July 22 media release.
The KBI said the 44-year-old Father McCandless was wanted on “three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.”
The charges “allege that between July and September 2025, McCandless sexually abused a 6-year-old child in Belleville, Kansas,” said the KBI.
The alleged acts involved “lewd fondling or touching of a child under 14 years of age,” according to a complaint obtained by OSV News from the Republic County Courthouse.
“The Diocese of Salina suspended McCandless from ministry when they were made aware of the reported incidents,” said the KBI.
If proven, each of the charges carries a life sentence, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years “and/or a fine of up to $500,000,” according to the complaint.
Next steps
Father McCandless is expected to be transferred to Republic County, in which Belleville is located, for prosecution. The KBI said the Republic County Sheriff’s Office had “requested KBI assistance on Sept. 15, 2025” in securing the priest’s arrest.
The Republic County Courthouse confirmed to OSV News July 23 that Father McCandless has not yet been transferred to county custody.
As of July 23, the priest remains at Sedgwick County’s main jail, according to that facility’s online records.
In a July 22 statement, the Diocese of Salina said it is “fully cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the Republic County Sheriff’s Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.”
Father McCandless was “immediately removed from all public priestly ministry upon notice of the allegation,” said the diocese. “He was not permitted to celebrate Mass, perform sacraments, or engage in any pastoral duties while the matter was under investigation.”
The diocese said Father McCandless was pastor of three parishes at the time of his removal: St. Edward in Belleville, St. George in Munden and St. Isidore in Cuba.
“He will remain removed from ministry unless and until he is fully cleared of the allegations by all the appropriate civil, legal, and ecclesiastical authorities,” said the diocese.
Assignment history
Previously, Father McCandless had served at a total of 10 parishes and Catholic education centers, including the Comeau Catholic Campus Center at Fort Hays State University in Hays, St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center at Kansas State University and Manhattan Catholic Schools, a pre-K through grade 8 parochial school in Manhattan, Kansas, that according to its website serves some 300 students in the region.
In a June 2017 video interview with Catholic Extension Society days after his ordination, Father McCandless said he had been raised as “a cradle Catholic” and was “a product of the Catholic schools of Wichita.”
After high school, he pursued studies in art education, while dating a young Presbyterian woman whom he sponsored in her conversion to the Catholic faith, according to the interview.
Father McCandless also recalled a 2009 Good Friday prayer service in which he had a “very profound experience.”
Watching the priest prostrate during the veneration of the Cross, “I had this moment of, ‘That should be me up there,’ and realizing that was just this beautiful moment of my life,” he said.
That Easter Monday, “I contacted my vocation director and I started the process,” he said.
In its statement, the diocese said it “remains steadfast in its commitment to the protection of children, the safety of our communities, and the pastoral care of survivors,” adding, “We are devastated for all involved and ask for your prayers during this difficult time.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
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