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	Prosecutors Challenge Fushek Ruling By Jim Walsh Arizona Republic October 22, 2008 http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2008/10/22/20081022fushek1023-on.html Prosecutors are asking a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to overturn a ruling that granted a suspended priest separate trials on misdemeanor sex charges. The ruling by San Tan Justice of the Peace Sam Goodman in September damaged the ability of prosecutors to show that Monsignor Dale Fushek had a pattern of abusing the trust of teenaged boys for sexual gratification. Fushek founded the Life Teen Program during his 20 years as pastor of St. Timothy's Catholic Community in Mesa, where his sermons packed the church. He angered the Diocese of Phoenix last year by preaching at a new ministry founded by his former parishioners. Goodman severed the charges of indecent exposure, assault and contributing to a delinquency of a minor after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Fushek has a right to a jury trial because he could be forced to register as a sex offender if convicted. If the appeal fails, Goodman's ruling would require five separate trials and would exclude evidence from incidents that never were charged. "For 20 years, the defendant has been able to hide behind the protective façade of his priestly power to mask the true nature of his actions," according to the prosecution's petition for special action filed this week. "To now silence the victims whose testimony can reveal that nature would allow the defendant to continue to shield himself from responsibility," wrote Deputy County Attorney Elizabeth Burton Ortiz. Thomas Hoidal, Fushek's defense attorney, argues that his client was merely counseling the boys about sex and performing his duties as a priest. Fushek was once the second-highest ranking priest in the Diocese and helped arranged visits by Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. Fushek is charged with offenses that occurred between June 1985 and January 1993. He was charged in a complaint in December 2005 but the case has been delayed by a long series of appeals more typical of major felony prosecutions. "In order to prove sexual motivation, the state must be allowed to show the ongoing pattern of the defendant's conduct," Ortiz wrote.
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