RETIRED PRIEST WEMPE GUILTY OF MOLESTING BOY JURY COULDN'T AGREE ON ALL COUNTS.Byline: Staff and Wire Services LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. - Retired Roman Catholic priest and admitted molester mo·lest tr.v. mo·lest·ed, mo·lest·ing, mo·lests 1. To disturb, interfere with, or annoy. 2. To subject to unwanted or improper sexual activity. Michael Wempe was found guilty Wednesday of one count of child molestation Child molestation is a crime involving a range of indecent or sexual activities between an adult and a child, usually under the age of 14. In psychiatric terms, these acts are sometimes known as pedophilia. after an emotionally wrenching trial that saw grown men testifying about their childhood abuse. Only one victim was named in the current case and jurors were unable to reach verdicts on four counts, so a mistrial A courtroom trial that has been terminated prior to its normal conclusion. A mistrial has no legal effect and is considered an invalid or nugatory trial. It differs from a "new trial," which recognizes that a trial was completed but was set aside so that the issues could be was declared on those. Wempe, 66, who was immediately taken into custody, agreed to waive sentencing until the district attorney can decide whether to seek a retrial retrial n. a new trial granted upon the motion of the losing party, based on obvious error, bias or newly-discovered evidence. (See: newly-discovered evidence) on the undecided counts. He faces a sentence of 16 months to three years on the single count. He has already served a year in prison, 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. The credibility of the victim, Jayson B., was attacked by the defense and his testimony was short on details and dates. During deliberations, jurors sent the judge many questions asking for more evidence and expressed skepticism about some of the acts described by the victim. ``I hope this brings some closure to the people involved,'' said Donald Steier, one of Wempe's attorneys. Wempe's lawyers acknowledged that the priest molested mo·lest tr.v. mo·lest·ed, mo·lest·ing, mo·lests 1. To disturb, interfere with, or annoy. 2. To subject to unwanted or improper sexual activity. 13 boys in the 1970s and 1980s, including while serving at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Palmdale and Paraclete High School Paraclete High School is a Catholic High School in Lancaster, CA operated independently of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 186 seniors graduated in the 2006-2007 school year. in Lancaster, but said he went into church-ordered treatment and returned a changed man. Attorneys maintained he never molested anyone after that. Wempe was spared trial on charges from the '70s and '80s when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the statute of limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. on the crimes, but he did spend a year in jail before that ruling was issued. Jayson B., the brother of two earlier victims, alleged he was abused from 1990 to 1995 when Wempe was a chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. History Cedars-Sinai is the result of a merger in 1961 between two major Los Angeles hospitals, Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai Home for the Incurables, with Steve Broidy as . ``The prosecution's case was based on passion, prejudice and emotion for what happened 20 to 30 years ago,'' Wempe attorney Leonard Levine said. He said he believes Jayson B. was attempting to obtain retribution against the priest for 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 of his brothers. Deputy District Attorney Todd Hicks, who described Wempe as a ``hip'' priest who wore his hair long, rode a motorcycle and gave such dynamic sermons that young people and their parents were drawn to him, said he was pleased with the verdict and Jayson was elated. ``I'm always happy when victims have their day in court,'' he said. He denied trying to appeal to the jury's emotions with testimony from eight long-ago victims, saying their testimony was used merely to show a pattern of behavior by Wempe. As for the importance of the case, Hicks said, ``It sends a message to the archdiocese regarding this defendant. They certainly mishandled this defendant.'' The Archdiocese of Los Angeles released a statement after the verdict. ``Father Michael Wempe's conviction cannot restore the trust and innocence stolen from his victims, but hopefully this verdict may provide them some measure of justice and comfort.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Retired Roman Catholic priest Michael Wempe listens in court Tuesday during his trial on charges of molesting a boy. Nick Ut/Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion