By Lisa Ryckman
Rocky Mountain News [Fort Collins CO]
May 31, 2007
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5562911,00.html
On one side of the packed courtroom sat the fervent supporters of former parish priest Timothy Joseph Evans. On the other side, his devastated sexual assault victims and their families.
They all shared one thing, Evans said.
"In each and every face, pain is the common denominator," the priest told Larimer District Court Judge Jolene Blair, who sentenced him Wednesday to 14 years to life for sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and a pattern of abuse.
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| Timothy Joseph Evans to serve 14 years to life, faces further sentencing |
Evans, 44, was the first priest convicted in Colorado since allegations of abuse began sweeping the Catholic church.
A Larimer County jury found Evans guilty in March of fondling a 17-year-old under his boxer shorts during a wrestling session on a bed in the church rectory, and later grabbing the boy's buttocks with both hands while hugging him goodbye. The attacks took place during Evans' tenure at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Fort Collins, where he was assigned from 1998 until the Archdiocese of Denver removed him in 2002.
Three other young men testified during the trial that Evans also had molested them. He is scheduled to be sentenced today for sexually assaulting one of those while he served as parish priest at Spirit of Christ Church in Arvada.
At the sentencing, Evans' victims said the assaults had damaged their lives and hurt those around them.
"It was way more than some misguided touch," said one man, who added that he has lost his job and his marriage since coming forward. "Each of us was willing to face persecution, ridicule and slander to make sure he wasn't allowed to hurt others."
Evans carefully groomed and manipulated his victims, gaining their trust and that of their families before a final betrayal, said Deputy District Attorney Emily Humphrey.
"(They) all put their faith in this man," she said. "He knew exactly how to play the game."
But Evans' supporters asked the court for leniency for a man they described as loving, caring and compassionate. Hollis Wakeford credited him with saving her from self-destruction.
"Without him, God only knows where I'd be - quite possibly dead," she testified. "Tim has never given up on me, even when I was ready to give up on myself. He has shown me unconditional love."
Scott Berry, who met Evans when they were in the seminary, said he took time for everybody. "He made an impact on so many lives. He helped so many people."
But one victim said, "I felt like that, too - until he did what he did. Tim did listen and show concern. But it was an issue of grooming (a victim), not compassion."
Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon said he received more than 125 letters of support for Evans, but the judge said many of them reflected denial of Evans' guilt or suggested that the victims had fabricated their stories.
"These are credible, honorable young men who endured ridicule and shame," she said. "It took a tremendous amount of courage."
Evans offered no apologies to his victims and said he plans to appeal his conviction.
"I was and am a joyful servant of the Lord," he said.
ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com
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