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	Ex-Priest Appeals Sexual Assault Conviction By Kristi Hsu Abilene Reporter-News [Eastland TX] March 9, 2007 http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_5405333,00.html The conviction of a former Ranger priest on sexual assault charges is being appealed. Notice of the appeal was filed late Wednesday night, said Eastland County District Attorney Russ Thomason. The Rev. Thomas Teczar was convicted Wednesday on three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of indecency by sexual conduct with a Ranger boy, according to Edwin J. Youngblood, Teczar's attorney. The judge sentenced Teczar to 25 years in prison for the aggravated sexual assault and 15 years for indecency with a child. He will serve both sentences simultaneously, Youngblood said. The abuse occurred while Teczar was a priest at St. Rita's Catholic Church in Ranger, and the boy was 11, according to the Associated Press. Teczar, 67, was a priest in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese until his departure in the early 1990s, according to Youngblood. The appeals process could be lengthy - maybe years - said Sarah Adams, an Eastland County assistant district attorney. "It's a very thorough process," she said. It's also a risky proposition for anyone who has received a sentence that is far less than the maximum possibility, which includes a prison sentence of 99 years and a fine $10,000 for each count, Youngblood said. If an appeal trial goes forward, the new judge can issue a sentence that is far harsher than the current punishment, he said. "Mr. Teczar has decided to take that risk," he said. Youngblood said he has not filed a motion for a new trial yet, but anticipates he or another lawyer will do so. Youngblood said he will ask the judge to release him from further obligation in the case for financial reasons. "That doesn't mean anything bad about Teczar," he said. "It just means he can't pay for my legal services." The 11th Court of Appeals in Eastland will first review trial transcripts from the court reporter and the county clerk, Adams said. Then Teczar will have 30 days to file a brief, a timeline that could be extended, she said. After his brief is filed, the district attorney's office has another 30 days to file its brief. The court will review the briefs and may ask the attorneys to present their arguments, she said. Any decision can be appealed in the state's criminal court of appeals and then again at the federal level, she said. E-mail: hsuk@reporternews.com
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