German Priest Jailed for 6 Years for Child Abuse

Associated Press
January 26, 2012

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIRaBN99pSpnLG4N9yp2Bim8Rseg?docId=141ae9b3afbb479984a751587faaa05d

A German court has convicted a Roman Catholic priest of some 250 counts of sexually abusing children over a several-year period and sentenced him to six years in prison.

German news agency dapd reported that the state court in Braunschweig on Thursday convicted the priest, who was found guilty of abusing three boys aged 9 to 15 between 2004 and 2011.

The 46-year-old priest, who wasn't identified, was arrested in July after one victim told his mother what had happened. He admitted the abuse when he went on trial Jan. 13.

He also faces church disciplinary proceedings.

Germany, Pope Benedict XVI's homeland, was shaken in 2010 by revelations of abuse by clergy going back decades.