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Area
Priest Sentenced in Molestation Case
By Ed Richter Journal-News February 12, 2014
http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/crime-law/area-priest-to-be-sentenced-in-molestation-case/ndL39/
CINCINNATI —
A priest convicted of taking a 10-year-old boy to West
Virginia for sex more than two decades ago was sentenced
Wednesday to 7½ years in federal prison.
Robert Poandl, 72, a priest with the Fairfield-based
Glenmary Home Missioners, was convicted in September of the Mann
Act, which is transporting a minor in interstate commerce with
the intent of engaging him in sex. He could have received up to
10 years.
Federal prosecutors say Poandl took the boy to
Spencer, W.Va., in 1991 and raped him while visiting a church
there.
Poandl, who is suffering from cancer, continued to
deny those allegations even as U.S. District Court Judge Michael
R. Barrett sentenced him Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Defense attorneys filed a motion last week urging a
lighter sentence for Poandl, noting he would likely die from
cancer before the end of the year.
“He suffers from significant health problem, notably
stage IV urothelial cancer. According to scientific data, there
is a high likelihood that Father Poandl will die from cancer
before the end of 2014. He has no prior criminal history and has
worked steadily his entire adult life. He presents little risk
to anyone,” attorney Stephen J. Wenke write in the motion.
His accuser, who is now 32, waited until 2009 to
report the incident to police in West Virginia. Poandl was
indicted on charges in a West Virginia court for sexually
abusing the boy. However, a judge dismissed those charges.
A federal grand jury indicted Poandl, known as “Father
Bob,” in November 2012. FBI agents arrested him at the Glenmary
Missioners. He was placed on house arrest with electronic
monitoring following his arrest. Following today’s hearing,
Poandl was placed in the custody of U.S. Marshals to begin
serving his sentence immediately.
In 2009, Poandl was removed as pastor of three
missions and has not publicly functioned as a priest since then.
Glenmary officials said he still remains a Roman Catholic
priest.
Father Chet Artysiewicz, Glenmary’s president,
released a statement through the religious order’s website.
“From the time I first learned of the charges against
Father Poandl, my daily prayer—and that of the Glenmary
community—has been for truth and a just resolution,” Artysiewicz
said. “Today’s sentencing in another step in the legal process
in which we placed our trust.”
Poandl worked in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati three
times, according to SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused
by Priests. SNAP, a Chicago-based group, said Catholic officials
transferred him about 30 times in 44 years.
He served in assignments in 10 states including Ohio,
Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma,
Georgia and West Virginia.
“That alone is a serious red flag,” said Judy Jones of
SNAP. “A number of bishops and other church officials have acted
dreadfully in this case, even in recent years.”
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