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	Former Tier Priest Sentenced for Sex Crimes By William Moyer Press Connects March 25, 2011 http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20110324/NEWS01/103240379/1112/Learn-about-designing-water-gardens/Former-Tier-priest-sentenced-sex-crimes?odyssey=nav|head MONTROSE, Pa. -- A former Episcopalian priest at parishes in Broome and Tioga counties will serve a 4 1/2-to-18-year sentence in a Pennsylvania state prison for sexual misconduct. Ralph E. Johnson, 84, was sentenced Thursday in Susquehanna County Court in Montrose, Pa., according to the district attorney's office. Johnson had pled guilty last November to two charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with teenage boys in the early 1990s. Each charge against Johnson carried a maximum sentence of 20 years. Originally, state police in Pennsylvania charged Johnson with 15 felonies and 30 misdemeanors related to the sexual abuse of a young boy at the former priest's residence in Gibson Township between 1992 and 1995. The victim was between 11 and 15 years old at the time, according to documents. Johnson, ordained in 1962, was rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Owego in the 1970s and also served at parishes in Binghamton and Windsor before he retired 20 years ago. Amid allegations of sexual misconduct, Johnson renounced his ministerial orders in the Episcopal church in May 2006 without admitting guilt. Diocesan officials subsequently prohibited him from performing any pastoral duties. The resignation came after the victim filed an affidavit with the diocese. Years before, though, a longtime rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Owego filed complaints against Johnson with the regional diocese office of the Episcopal church in Syracuse. "Justice has finally come to the victims," the Rev. David G. Bollinger said Thursday. Bollinger retired in 2009 after serving at St. Paul's in Owego from 1985 to 2005. "The victims were courageous in coming forward in this case," he said. Contact: wmoyer@gannett.com
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