Retired Priest Pleads Not Guilty to Molestation

By Scott Rappold
Colorado Springs Gazette
October 19, 2012

http://www.gazette.com/articles/priest-146192-retired-guilty.html

The Rev. Charles Robert Manning, 77, is accused of molesting the boy while serving as pastor at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, where he began work in 2007.

A retired priest pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he lured a 15-year-old Colorado Springs boy into a sexual relationship.

The Rev. Charles Robert Manning, 77, is accused of molesting the boy while serving as pastor at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, where he began work in 2007. The alleged abuse took place in June 2011.

An arrest affidavit alleges the boy came to Manning for advice on becoming a Catholic and the priest began giving him private lessons, during which he gave the boy alcohol and marijuana. Colorado Springs police also say Manning took the boy to get his nipples pierced, kissed the boy on the lips and engaged in other sexual acts, after which he thanked the boy.

Manning was suspended from the church in January and arrested in May.

Before entering his plea Friday, Manning’s attorney asked for some of the charges to be lessened. Prosecutors had charged him with three counts of sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust in a pattern of abuse.

Attorney Richard Bednarski said the alleged sexual assault was not a pattern, but one incident was broken by a 10-minute cigarette break Manning and the boy took.

“In this case, we only have one continuous episode. There is no separation of time and there is no intervening event,” Bednarski said. “The entire alleged incident took place in less than 30 minutes, all in one day.”

Prosecutors argued that should be up to the jury to decide, and 4th Judicial District Judge Ronald Crowder agreed, denying the motion to reduce the charges.

Establishing it as a pattern of abuse makes each charge a third-class felony, with a possible sentence of 4-12 years in prison. Prosecutor David Kalicki said he was dropping the pattern of abuse allegation from one of the charges, reducing it to fourth-class felony, with a possible prison term of 2-6 years.

Manning also faces two counts each of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a fourth-class felony, and sexual exploitation of a child, a sixth-class felony with a 12-18 month possible sentence.

Manning is free on bail and living in a home for retired priests in St. Louis. His trial was set for March 4.