RPriest receives jail time for sex charges

He walked into court wearing a black jacket, gray pants and sporting a thick beard. But when the Rev. Morgan Kuhl left Stapleton Criminal Court, he was escorted by two court officers and his wrists were handcuffed.

Yesterday, the priest who once led a youth group at Holy Child R.C. Church, Eltingville, was sentenced to 45 days in jail on sex charges -- his second sex-related conviction involving minors in three years.

Father Kuhl, 36, was accused of fondling a 16-year-old boy's genitals in August 1999, in the basement of the borough teen's home.

He pleaded guilty last month to third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. A grand jury declined to indict him on felony charges. The victim's name has not been released.

Father Kuhl, who faced up to 90 days behind bars, was also given a one-year conditional discharge by Judge Salvatore J. Modica. He could get additional jail time if he gets in trouble during that time.