PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Roman Catholic priest and a former Catholic school lay teacher were sentenced today to long prison terms for sexually assaulting a schoolboy a decade and a half ago.
Judge Ellen Ceisler today sentenced Father Charles Engelhardt to 6-12 years in prison, and former lay teacher Bernard Shero to 8-16 years in prison. Both were convicted last January of sexually abusing the same grade-school student.
Defense attorneys for both men immediately popped up in the courtroom to say they would appeal.
Before sentencing, the standing-room-only courtroom heard the defense lawyers argue unsuccessfully for a new trial for their clients.
The prosecutor read a victim impact statement from the key witness in the case, and family members and friends of the defendants said they believed the pair were innocent.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.