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	Priest with Ties to Manville Church Gets Year in Prison for Fondling Teen on Plane Home News Tribune January 27, 2009 http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090127/CRIME/90127019 MANVILLE —A Polish priest with ties to a borough church was sentenced Tuesday to a year in federal prison for fondling a 16-year-old girl on a plane bound for Newark Liberty International Airport, authorities said. Tomasz Adam Zielinski, 33, was immediately detained to begin serving the sentence, according to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares. Zielinski, a Polish national who was in America on a religious visa, pleaded guilty last October to a felony charge of abusive sexual contact for the encounter with the teenager, who was sitting next to him on a flight from Warsaw, Poland, to Newark. Zielinski had surrendered to federal authorities on July 11 after an investigation of his actions on the flight, which arrived in New Jersey six days earlier. He first was charged with misdemeanor simple assault but later was indicted on the felony charge of abusive sexual contact aboard a flight bound for the United States, according to prosecutors. Zielinski, who had been associated with Christ the King Church in Manville, will likely face deportation after he completes his sentence, authorities said. He was removed from his position at the church after he was charged. Authorities said Zielinski was seated next to the girl when he began touching her inappropriately. The girl responded by having her seat changed by the flight crew. Later in the flight, Zielinski approached her again, apologized and asked for forgiveness, authorities said. The flight crew directed him back to his seat. During his guilty plea, Zielinski admitted to touching the victim's inner thigh, lower abdomen and groin area through her clothing, prosecutors said. In determining Zielinski's sentence, Linares consulted guidelines that consider the severity and characteristics of the offense, any criminal history and other factors. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Judson Welle in Newark.
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