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	Catholic Charity Director Charged in Sex Case Woman Came Looking for Job, Director Allegedly Offered Money for Sex, Authorities Say By Michael Manekin Palo Alto Daily News October 17, 2007 http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-10-17-10-17-07-hmb-sex-solicit-pa The director of a prominent Catholic charity in Half Moon Bay offered a Hispanic woman money in exchange for sex after she came to his organization seeking help in finding a job, authorities reported. Michael David Niece, 65, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in San Mateo County Superior County to one count of solicitation of an act of prostitution. Niece, who runs the Coastside Catholic Worker with his wife Kathy, was arrested and released by police on Aug. 14. The alleged victim, a 35-year-old woman who speaks little English, had approached the police earlier that day, and investigators set up a sting operation to catch Niece in the act of solicitation, said Half Moon Bay police Chief Don O'Keefe. "This woman had called (Niece) about getting a job and seeking help in finding temporary employment," O'Keefe said. "She said she needed money, and he said, 'Come with me' and basically offered to give her money for sex." The woman was not a prostitute but a resident of Half Moon Bay, O'Keefe said. Niece, whose lawyer appeared in court on his behalf Tuesday to enter a plea of not guilty, had earlier admitted to offering the woman money for sex, O'Keefe said. Defense attorney William Johnston declined to comment on the case but said that "the real disaster" of the charge will be its effect on the reputation of the Coastside Catholic Worker. "They have done magnificent work - unselfish volunteer service to the poor in our community that nobody else does," Johnston said. "It's a real shame that the wonderful reputation they have developed in the community could be besmirched by the charge." Coastside Catholic Worker was founded in 2000 by Niece and his wife Kathy to aid Half Moon Bay's largely Hispanic agricultural workforce, according to the organization's Web site. The organization - which donates food, clothing and emergency assistance to the poor along the coast - is run according to the principles of the Catholic Worker Movement. The movement, established in the 1930s by the late pacifists Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, is devoted to ministering to people who live on the margins of society. The Nieces, who run Coastside Catholic Worker out of their home on Kelly Avenue, west of downtown Half Moon Bay and Highway 1, were not available for comment by press time on Tuesday. A voice mail message reported that the couple was on vacation in Italy until the end of the month. The Nieces had booked the vacation some time ago, said Lawrence Purcell, a former Catholic priest and the longtime director of Redwood City Catholic Worker. Purcell also declined to talk about the charge against Niece, but said that he was one of several people who encouraged the Nieces to move from Oakland to Half Moon Bay in 2000 to establish a Catholic Worker house. "In my opinion, their work on the coast has been exemplary," he said. "They have fed and clothed and sheltered and become one with the very poor. And I think they are respected by a lot of people over there because of their work." Meanwhile, police say that Niece's recent solicitation charge is not the first time that he has been accused of improper conduct. In 2003, a 16-year-old volunteer at Coastside Catholic Worker told authorities that Niece had asked to kiss her, said Half Moon Bay Police Sgt. John Sanchez. The girl told police that she refused the kiss but submitted to a back rub, he said. The behavior sounded "inappropriate," but it was not criminal and the police did not bring the case to the district attorney's office, Sanchez said. Niece also ran into trouble in 2006 when a young transient passing through Half Moon Bay told police that she had been offered "touch therapy" by Niece, Sanchez said. However, during her brief stay in the city, the woman also accused several other people of sexual harassment. Police decided not to pursue the case against Niece because the woman appeared to have a mental condition, he said. Mike Scott, a Silicon Valley philanthropist who said he helped the Nieces establish Coastside Catholic Worker by purchasing the couple's Half Moon Bay home, called the recent allegations unsubstantiated. "A woman saw the word 'Catholic,' thought it was therefore part of the archdiocese," Scott said. "She thought, 'Bingo!'" The maximum penalty for misdemeanor solicitation of an act of prostitution is six months, according to the district attorney's office. Niece, who was cited and released after his August arrest, is expected to appear at a jury trial on Feb. 19. Half Moon Bay police are urging anyone with information pertaining to the case to call Sgt. Dennis Loubal at 650-726-8288.
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