The Courier-Journal
July 14, 2011
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110714/NEWS02/307140047/Priest-found-guilty-raping-Jeffersonville-man-child?odyssey=nav|head
 |
| Former Kingsport, Tenn Catholic priest William Casey enters Sullivan County Criminal Court in Blountville, Tenn on Thursday, July 14, 2011. A jury returned its verdict after about seven hours of deliberation, convicting William Casey of two counts of aggravated rape and one count of criminal sexual misconduct. Casey, of Greeneville, Tenn., did not testify in his defense. He was taken into custody after the conviction. / (AP Photo/The Kingsport Times-News, Erica Yoon) |
A Roman Catholic priest has been found guilty of raping a Jeffersonville, Ind., man when he was an altar boy more than three decades ago.
A jury in Blountville returned its verdict Thursday after about seven hours of deliberation, convicting William Casey of two counts of aggravated rape and one count of criminal sexual misconduct.
Warren Tucker, 46, of Jeffersonville, had accused Casey of molesting him when he was a teenager and attended the church school at St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Kingsport, Tenn. Casey was the senior priest at the church in the 1970s.
Casey, 77, earlier pleaded guilty to similar North Carolina charges and faces prosecution on sex charges in Virginia.
Cal Pfeiffer was part of a small group that traveled from the Louisville area to sit with Tucker during the trial and give moral support.
"He was able to accomplish what he tried to do, and that was create hope for people down here that they can go forward, they can challenge the statute of limitations and they can win," said Pfeiffer, a member of the Louisville chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Pfeiffer said Tucker was weary from the trial and did not want to comment but that he hopes other victims of abuse will be inspired to report it.
"He said there's nothing to celebrate, but he feels vindicated," he said.
Shortly after the verdict was rendered, Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville released a statement saying Tucker deserves closure.
“We are brokenhearted at the pain and tragedy Mr. Tucker has experienced over the past years, and we sincerely hope that today's verdict will bring some healing to him,” Stika wrote.
He also said church officials have cooperated fully with state investigators since the case surfaced and will continue to do so.
Stika removed Casey from public ministry in April 2010 after Tucker traveled to Knoxville to report the abuse. Stika said then that after confronting Casey with the allegations, the priest admitted to abusing Tucker.
Casey remains in the priesthood while barred from public ministry and from dressing or presenting himself as a priest, according to the diocese.
Courier-Journal Reporter Peter Smith contributed to this report.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.