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	Priest Sentenced for Sex with Inmates at Fort Worth Facility By Bryon Okada Star-Telegram May 6, 2008 http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/624597.html FORT WORTH — A Roman Catholic priest who had sex with two female inmates at Federal Medical Center Carswell is headed to a prison cell of his own. Vincent Inametti, a missionary from Nigeria who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, worked as a chaplain at the medical center in Fort Worth from Aug. 13, 2000, through Sept. 26. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry Means on Monday morning to 48 months in federal prison on two counts of sexual abuse of an adult ward in custody. Inametti, 48, was also ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and will be on supervised release for two years after his incarceration. He was taken into custody at the end of the sentencing. Background According to court documents, Inametti was ordained in his native Nigeria. The Justice Department's Office of Inspector General received a complaint in March 2007 detailing sexual involvement between Inametti and an inmate identified in documents as D.D., who was serving an 11-year sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. An investigation revealed another sexual involvement between Inametti and an inmate identified as E.R., who was serving a sentence of 12 years, 7 months for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Both inmates were under the "custodial, supervisory, or disciplinary authority" of Inametti. On or about Feb. 18, 2006, Inametti directed D.D. to the chapel library for sex. In June or July 2006, Inametti summoned E.R. to a classroom in the chapel for sex. He pleaded guilty to both counts against him in November. Not part of the Fort Worth Diocese Inametti is not part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. Instead, he is a member of a Nigeria-based religious order called the Missionary Society of St. Paul. Before 2000, he served parishes in Eastland County as well as at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Fort Worth. In 2000, at his request, he was given limited faculties to hear confessions and offer Mass in the prison. These duties were taken away from him when diocesan officials learned of the federal investigation. A witness testifies On Monday, the defense called two witnesses, including Tammi Allowitz, an inmate at the medical center. As a chaplain's office worker, she was familiar with both victims. The one identified in court as E.R. "was in love with Father Inametti," Allowitz said. She described the situation as rival lovers fighting over one man. Prosecutor John Bradford asked Allowitz to give the basic information of her own sentence, which was 12 years, 7 months for attempted murder for hire. In court documents, defense attorneys maintained that the sex was consensual and that a reasonable sentence would be lower than that suggested by federal guidelines. What Inametti said He apologized to the court, government, medical center, inmates, victims and God. "I'm asking this morning for mercy," he told Means. What Means said In sentencing Inametti far above the guidelines, Means used terms more blunt than the legal terminology, "sex abuse of a ward." "This is rape and this is sodomy," he said. Inametti's lack of criminal history suggested that he might get a sentence between 10 and 16 months. The statutory maximum is five years. But Means said that Inametti's crimes were "surprisingly heinous" and that he had violated a twofold trust: as an employee of the federal prison and as a priest. "For this he will face a higher authority than this one," Means said. Means' response to the audience Inametti had many supporters in the audience, including three who spoke before the court. They said that Inametti's crimes were inconsistent with the majority of his life's work and that priests are merely men and susceptible to physical temptations. Means, however, drew a distinction between ordinary mistakes and moral transgressions. In a classroom, he said, a student who makes an error on a test has made a mistake. Someone who copies off another's paper, however, is cheating and has made a moral decision that goes beyond a simple mistake. "What I see here is a moral transgression of great magnitude," Means said. BRYON OKADA, 817-390-7752 okada@star-telegram.com
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