February 09, 2006

Priest pleads guilty to abuse of wife, boy

NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

BY PEGGY WRIGHT
DAILY RECORD

The former pastor of St. Virgil's Roman Catholic Church in Morris Township admitted to a judge today that he beat his wife on two occasions in 2004, and that he cannot refute an allegation by an 11-year-old boy of sexual abuse because he was so dependent on alcohol.

The Rev. William Winston, 52, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti in Morristown to one count of aggravated assault that encompasses two instances of domestic violence against his wife, Janet. He said he was drunk in both May and November 2004 when he knocked her to the ground and kicked her.

In an allegation made public only today, Winston also pleaded guilty to abuse and neglect of the now-11-year-old boy, saying he has no clear recollection but could not dispute the boy's allegation that he touched the child's genitals on occasions when he was between the ages of 4 and 7.

Posted by kshaw at February 9, 2006 04:46 PM