MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By DERRICK NUNNALLY
dnunnally@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 3, 2005
A Catholic priest from Illinois who brought an altar boy to Milwaukee for sexual encounters at least twice in the 1980s was sentenced Friday to 10 years in a Wisconsin prison.
Francis Engels, 69, was arrested in December and in April entered Alford pleas to two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child. In an Alford plea, a defendant concedes he would likely be convicted by a jury based on evidence against him but does not admit wrongdoing. Because he was convicted under an old law, Engels will eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years and will likely be released from prison after less than 7 years.
Daniel Koenigs, now 36, choked back tears as he told Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Hansher how Francis Engels had maneuvered him into sexual situations with Engels and other priests and how it drove Koenigs to attempt suicide several times.
"I remember his exact words: 'If you tell anybody, they're not going to believe you,' " Koenigs said, "and I remembered that for a long time."
Posted by kshaw at June 4, 2005 04:13 AM