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	Priest's Plea Wisconsin State Journal January 20, 1993 A priest accused of molesting a 14-year-old boy in 1987 pleaded innocent Tuesday to a sexual assault charge, but his lawyer said the priest will change the plea next month. The Rev. William Effinger, 60, was accused of molesting the boy in a town of Sheboygan basement between November 1987 and March 1988. The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a $ 10,000 fine. Effinger pleaded innocent to the charge before Sheboygan County Court Commissioner Terrence Bourke and was released on a $ 10,000 bond. His lawyer, Milwaukee attorney Gerald Boyle, told the court the plea was a formality, and Effinger would plead either guilty or no contest at an arraignment on Feb. 26. Boyle said after the hearing that Effinger wants to "end it, to go forward and to close out this situation." Effinger was removed in late October from his post at Holy Name Catholic Church in Sheboygan after he admitted that he sexually molested a young boy more than 20 years ago in Kenosha.
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