NEW BRITAIN (CT)
Hartford Courant
December 22, 2004
By JOANN KLIMKIEWICZ, Courant Staff Writer
NEW BRITAIN -- An hour after accepting a plea agreement on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage girl who sought his counseling, the Rev. Roman Kramek sat in the New Britain office of one of his supporters Tuesday and struggled to hold back all he's wanted to say since Christmas 2002.
"It has been psychological torture for me for two years," Kramek said in Polish through an interpreter. "And now I'm glad it's over."
Close to the anniversary of the Christmas Eve arrest that cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the Polish American community in New Britain, the priest - who had only meant to be on temporary assignment from Poland - accepted a nine-month prison sentence with 10 years of probation.
Earlier in Superior Court in New Britain, Kramek avoided trial and a possible 10-year sentence by accepting a plea deal that offered him the minimum for a second-degree sexual assault conviction.
As much as Kramek, 42, said he wanted to speak Tuesday, one of his supporters insisted he wait until his Feb. 17 sentencing, on the advice of his attorney.
"I want to say a lot," he said. "The worst thing is silence."