Orthodox Reform
October 25, 2007
http://orthodoxreform.org/cases/blanco-monastery/blanco-monk-sen
tenced-to-80-years-for-child-sex-assault/
Yesterday a Blanco County jury sentenced a former monk to 80 years in prison Wednesday for four counts of sexual assault on a minor.
Hughes, 57, was convicted Wednesday on four counts of sexual assault of a child. He showed no emotion as the verdict was read by state District Judge Dan Mills. source
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Accusers took the stand on Tuesday:
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Two accusers took the stand Tuesday, claiming Russian Orthodox monk William Hughes sexually assaulted them.
One of the accusers testified that when he went to live at the Christ of the Hills Russian Orthodox Monastery in the 1990s as a novice monk, he was sexually assaulted by Hughes. He testified he and other novice monks were told sex was not a sin if it's blessed by the brotherhood. source
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The jury of 10 men and two women took just more than an hour to convict William Hughes, a former Russian Orthodox monk.KXAN Austin News spoke exclusively with one of the victims, who wanted to share his thoughts after watching Hughes walk into jail.
"He took advantage of innocence, of purity, of boys, young men, giving their life, who thought they were giving their life to God," said James Bartlett Wright Jr.
Hughes will be eligible for parole in 40 years.
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