PRIEST WHO CREATED `NIGHTMARE' FOR BOYS GIVEN 3 YEARS IN PRISON.Byline: Staff and Wire Services Retired Roman Catholic priest Michael Wempe was sentenced to three years in state prison Friday on one count of child molestation molestation n. the crime of sexual acts with children up to the age of 18, including touching of private parts, exposure of genitalia, taking of pornographic pictures, rape, inducement of sexual acts with the molester or with other children, and variations of these acts by pedophiles. Molestation also applies to incest by a relative with a minor family member, and any unwanted sexual acts with adults short of rape. (See: pedophilia, rape) in a case that began with his admission that he had sexually abused many other boys decades ago. However, he was credited with 616 days of time served time served n. the period a criminal defendant has been in jail, often while awaiting bail or awaiting trial. Often a judge will give a defendant "credit for time served," particularly when sentencing for misdemeanors. Example: Johnny Jumpstart was arrested for drunk driving and spent the night in jail before he was released on his own recognizance. and credits for prison work and good behavior behind bars. He also was fined $600 and must register as a sex offender. The trial played out over four weeks against the backdrop of an ongoing scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a statute of limitations on old claims resulted in dismissal of 42 molestation counts against Wempe involving 13 other boys in the 1970s and `80s, including while he served at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Palmdale and Paraclete High School in Lancaster. His lawyers acknowledged his guilt on those charges but said he went into church-ordered treatment and returned a changed man, never molesting after that. The case on which the 66-year-old priest was tried involved only one victim, referred to as Jayson B., who claimed he was 11 when the abuse started during a time that Wempe was a chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Wempe's lawyers suggested that Jayson fabricated his claims in retribution for the abuse of his two older brothers whose cases were thrown out. But it was the earlier crimes that took up the bulk of the trial as grown men came to recount tearfully the abuse they said damaged them for life. Wempe, seated across the courtroom, cried with them. ``This guy is so sick,'' snapped one victim. Asked how he knew the priest, the 39-year-old man replied, ``From a nightmare.'' The jury was unable to reach verdicts on four counts involving Jayson B. and a mistrial was declared on those. Jurors convicted Wempe in February on one count of molestation for which he faced a sentence of 16 months to three years. He had already served a year in prison while awaiting trial, so that time would be deducted. One of his attorneys said he was diabetic and had a heart condition, so likely would serve his time in a medical unit. |
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