Posted on 05/21/2006 8:09:06 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
PRINT STORY The leader of a Maui Catholic church admitted in court he sexually abused a boy for three years. But the deal struck with prosecutors may only send the deacon to prison for a year.
Deacon James Gonsalves pleaded guilty to 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assault and 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault.
But under a plea agreement, the 69-year-old would only spend a year in prison, three months under house arrest and 20 years on probation.
The victim, who remains unnamed, says the abuse started in 2002 when he was 12 years old and occurred nearly every day for three years. The assaults happened at St. Ann Church in Waihee and at Gonsalves' home.
Until now the deacon has claimed innocence. When the allegations surfaced, Gonsalves had the full support of his parish.
We spoke with both lawyers this afternoon. Neither would go into detail about the plea bargain.
Gonsalves is free on $100,000 bail, but he's confined to his home. The plea agreement he struck is expected to be okayed by the judge at his sentencing July 20.
Am I to understand...3 years of assaults on a daily basis and this 12 year old failed to report it to the proper authorities ?....sounds "fishy" to me...
What other public or private institution has anywhere near the number of sexual assaults against children that the catholic church does?
It's a child for crying out loud.
Who knows what this person, in a position of trust, is telling this kid.
Stop turning a blind eye to the ghastly 'things' going on in your religion.
If I had to guess, I'd guess that the child sexual abuse rates are pretty much the same across the board.
Of course, I'm not pointing any fingers so it isn't incumbent on me to prove anything. It is incumbent on you to come up with some data showing that Catholic Priests have higher child sexual abuse rates than other private and public institutions since you like to point your finger. Good luck, I'll be around when you come up with the data.
Oh! heavens!, haven't you encountered a present day teen-ager ???
Dear mrhansen,
"Notice that this sort of nonsense rarely happens anywhere but the catholic church?"
Well, not quite.
There were perhaps around 10,000 children abused over an approximately 50 year period by perhaps 4,000 Catholic priests.
Recent studies show that there are 100,000 children sexually abused EACH AND EVERY YEAR in the public schools of the United States.
sitetest
Dear SpottedOwl,
"There's something fishy going on, imo."
Indeed. It wouldn't be the first time that a genuinely innocent man took a plea bargain that included minimal punishment.
sitetest
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