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  Ex-priest Accused of Sex Assault Allegedly Solicited Teen's Murder

By Brian New
KENS 5
November 23, 2010

http://www.kens5.com/news/Former-Texas-priest--110245519.html

[with video]

A former South Texas priest, indicted on sex crimes, is back in jail, and this time 52-year-old John Fiala faces a murder-for-hire charge.

Fiala was arrested at his home Thursday in Garland after he allegedly negotiated a murder arrangement with an undercover officer.

"It certainly served to validate my client’s fears,” said Tom Rhodes, the attorney for the teenage boy Fiala is accused of plotting to kill.

The teenager is the same boy who the priest allegedly raped two years ago.

According to court documents, the teenager told authorities in 2008 that Fiala took him to a hotel room in San Angelo where Fiala raped him at gun-point.

In September, Fiala was indicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child

At the time, Fiala worked at the teenager’s rural parish in Rocksprings, a town 110 miles west of San Antonio.

The teenager’s attorney said his client has been living in fear.

"Fiala told him in no uncertain terms that if he told anyone what happened or reported it, he would kill him. Then on other occasions he said he would kill his girlfriend,” said Rhodes. “And on other occasions he said he would kill other members of his family."

Tuesday, on the day of his installment as San Antonio’s new archbishop, Gustavo Garcia Siller addressed the allegations.

"Just to think about it is sad,” said Garcia-Siller. “It will be one of my more [heart] felt intentions today as I pray in the Mass."

KENS 5 contacted Fiala’s last listed attorney, but the Dallas-based attorney’s office said as of Tuesday Rex Gunter is no longer Fiala’s lawyer.

Gunter’s attorney office would not elaborate why.

Fiala was jailed in the Dallas County. His bail was set at $700,000.

 
 

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