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	Former Clinton Pastor Appears in Court on Sex Charge By Rocco Laduca Observer-Dispatch October 26, 2007 http://www.uticaod.com/homepage/x1633052620 UTICA – A former Clinton pastor will likely face trial in Oneida County Court later this year or in early January for allegations that he inappropriately touched a 7-year-old girl while trying to get her to fall asleep at his residence. Judge Michael L. Dwyer estimated the possible trial date after the Rev. William Procanick, 53, appeared in court Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing to examine the circumstances surrounding Procanick's alleged confession to investigators. According to that April 13 written statement, the former pastor of Resurrection Assembly of God on Kirkland Avenue told Oneida County sheriff's Sgt. Denise Luker that he had rubbed the girl "in a way that I shouldn't." "I realized that I had crossed the line," Procanick allegedly told Luker, who was assigned to the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center at the time. Procanick is charged with first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Procanick further stated that he told the girl's mother the next day that, "I am guilty of sleeping next to your daughter." The mother did not respond at the time, but she instead said a few weeks later that Procanick had scared her daughter, he stated. "She was just yelling at me, asking me what I had done to her daughter," Procanick stated. When the girl's mother said the girl was having nightmares, Procanick stated that he apologized. Procanick's defense attorney, George Aney, asked for Friday's hearing because he feels that Procanick did not voluntarily give that statement to Luker. Instead, Aney argued, Luker diminished the gravity of the allegations Procanick was facing so that he would talk to investigators without asking for an attorney. Before being questioned, Procanick asked Luker if he needed an attorney, to which Luker said she could not advise him on that matter, Luker told Assistant District Attorney Doug DeMarche Jr. during the hearing. Luker then told Procanick he had a right to an attorney, but Procanick still chose to talk with investigators, she testified. Then after more than 45 minutes of questioning, Luker arrested Procanick for sexual abuse. "He said he was shocked," Luker testified. "He said that if he knew how serious the charge was, he would have asked for a lawyer." After the hearing, Aney said that Procanick's reaction reflected an underlying problem with how police investigators question suspects. "They downplay the seriousness of a charge all the time, and I'm sick of it," Aney said. Dwyer will decide at a later date whether Procanick's statement can be used at the upcoming trial.
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