Prison for ex-priest in plot to kill abuse accuser
May 18, 2012, 11:00 PM
DALLAS (AP) – A Texas jury has sentenced a former Roman Catholic priest to 60 years in prison for plotting the death of a man who accused him of sexual abuse.
Prosecutors had asked jurors Friday for a life sentence for 53-year-old John M. Fiala. His defense attorney argued that anything more than 15 years would be a “travesty.”
The Dallas Morning News (
http://bit.ly/Kucuq3) reports the ex-priest will be eligible for parole after 15 years. Fiala was convicted Thursday for solicitation of capital murder.
Prosecutors say Fiala tried to hire a neighbor’s brother to kill the man who accused him of abuse in 2008 when Fiala was the priest at a rural West Texas parish and his accuser was 16.
Defense attorneys said Fiala had no true intention of having his accuser killed.
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Information from: The Dallas Morning News,
http://www.dallasnews.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
