HAWAII
KGMB
Alan Lu - alu@kgmb9.com
Wearing a prison outfit and handcuffs, Catholic church Deacon James Gonsalves looked very much alone in a Maui Circuit Court room Monday.
However, the 68-year-old administrator of St. Ann Church in Waihe`e, Maui was not alone. Dozens of supporters sat in the audience to watch the proceeding.
Gonzalves is charged with 62 counts of sexual assault against a teenage boy.
"The last charge occurred at St. Ann Church right there on the premises on June 14th of this year," claimed deputy prosecutor Robert Rivera.
Gonsalves has pleaded "not guilty" and asked a judge to lower his bail from $790,000 to $100,000.
"He's not a flight risk or a danger to the community and the amount of cash that can be posted is up to $100,000, which is a huge amount of money," said defense attorney Philip Lowenthal.