BALTIMORE (MD)
Washington Post
By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 18, 2005; Page B03
Maurice Blackwell, a defrocked Roman Catholic priest, was convicted by a Baltimore jury yesterday of sexually abusing former altar boy Dontee Stokes. The verdicts came more than two years after Stokes took out his anger toward the former clergyman by shooting him.
The Circuit Court jury deliberated for more than five hours over two days before finding Blackwell, 58, guilty of three counts of sexual child abuse that occurred from 1990 to 1992. Each count carries a possible 15-year prison term. The jury acquitted Blackwell of one count of sexually abusing Stokes in 1989.
Stokes, 29, said after the verdicts that he was relieved the trial was over but saddened that the man he once considered a father figure would not apologize to him.
"It is a sad situation because someone who had the potential to do so much good is so sick," Stokes said. "It's sad that he would rather stand there and go to trial rather than apologize and take responsibility for his own actions."
Posted by kshaw at February 18, 2005 04:23 AM