Catholic priest in Puerto Rico suspended amid investigation for 'improper conduct' with minor

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A Roman Catholic priest in a small town on the west coast of Puerto Rico is being investigated for improper conduct with a minor and has been suspended from his duties, church and government officials said Tuesday.

The Rev. Floyd McCoy was provisionally suspended from serving as a priest in the town of Hormigueros pending the outcome of the investigation, said the Rev. Edgardo Acosta Ocasio, a spokesman for the Diocese of Mayaguez.

Parishioners were told he was accused of "improper conduct with a minor," in a letter issued Sunday by the bishop of the diocese, Alvaro Corrada del Rio, who did not disclose details of the allegations against McCoy.

Puerto Rico Justice Department spokeswoman Amber Lee Velez said there is a criminal investigation under way but also did not give details.

Authorities in Puerto Rico have been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of abuse among Catholic clergy in Puerto Rico, a predominantly Roman Catholic U.S. island territory.