Father Joseph Fitzpatrick Crissman was a former Catholic priest and a convicted pedophile. In 2008, the FBI used his alleged psychic abilities to search for missing FBI Agent Monica Bannan. (The X-Files: I Want to Believe)
Biographical information[]
Crissman was born in 1945, of British origin, had been assigned to the United States at some point after being ordained. One of his altar boys was Franz Tomczeszyn. Tomczeszyn was one of thirty-seven young men that Crissman was convicted of committing acts of sodomy against.
After being released from prison, Crissman wrote several letters to the Vatican in an attempt to be allowed back in the church. These all failed. He voluntarily committed himself in a dormitory for convicted sex offenders some time prior to 2008.
Contact with the FBI[]
Shortly after the disappearance of FBI Agent Monica Bannen, Father Crissman contacted ASAC Dakota Whitney with information regarding the incident. Since he knew unreleased details, which he claimed came from visions, Whitney and Agent Mosley Drummy brought in Crissman on the investigation. Soon, Crissman was able to discover the arm of one of her abductors, later identified as Franz Tomczeszyn.
After this, Whitney brought in former FBI agent Fox Mulder, who had previous work with psychic phenomena. Mulder would be persuaded of Whitney's legitimacy, although his partner, Dr. Dana Scully remained unconvinced. Working with Crissman, Mulder and Whitney investigate a related disappearance, when Crissman discovers a frozen burial ground. The remains are linked to Janke Dacyshyn, the husband of Franz Tomczeszyn. With this information, Crissman is released from the investigation.
While at his apartment, Crissman was met by Dr. Scully, who was taken aback by some words he told her earlier (Don't give up). Crissman went into a seizure and was sent to Our Lady of Sorrows where he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. At the hospital, she "proved" to Mulder that Crissman was a fake psychic when he revealed that Agent Bannen was still alive, despite the FBI having found her severed head beforehand.
Crissman died of lung cancer, at the same time of Franz Tomczeszyn's death during a halted illegal head transplant. (The X-Files: I Want to Believe)