By Ann Schrader
Denver Post
April 10, 2007
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_5630577
Golden - For the second time in two weeks, Catholic priest Timothy Evans has been found guilty of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
Evans is the first priest in Colorado to be charged with sexual assault since the clergy-abuse crisis hit the U.S. Catholic Church in 2002.
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| Timothy Evans could face life. |
After deliberating Friday, a Jefferson County jury reached its guilty verdict Monday morning.
Evans, 44, of Loveland, bowed his head as he was handcuffed. He smiled and nodded at his family and friends as he was taken to the Jefferson County Jail.
Sentencing has been set for May 31. He faces two to eight years in prison.
"This is an important one," said prosecutor Zak Phillips. "People are a lot of safer."
Evans' attorney and his parents did not comment.
On March 26, a Larimer County jury convicted Evans on three counts of sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust for groping a 17-year-old boy in 1999 while he was pastor at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Fort Collins. Evans faces a mandatory 10-year prison sentence in that case, and could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison. Sentencing is set for May 30.
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput said in a statement that he offers his prayers "that a process of healing might begin."
The archdiocese "promptly" reported sexual-abuse allegations to authorities, Chaput said, and after the first alleged sexual abuse of a minor, Evans was removed from the ministry. The archdiocese took away his ability to function as a priest in 2003.
"These actions reflect long-standing Archdiocesan policies," Chaput said. "The Archdiocese of Denver does not permit any priest to minister with a credible claim of sexual abuse of a minor against him."
In August, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Evans on suspicion of groping a teenage boy a decade ago while counseling him. The assault occurred between May 1995 and May 1997, when the boy was about 16 years old and Evans was an assistant pastor at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community in Arvada.
Evans, who was ordained in 1993, served until 1996 at Spirit of Christ and from 1996 to 1998 at Our Lady of Fatima in Lakewood. He then moved to St. Elizabeth Seton Parish.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
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