COLORADO
Gazette
By Lance Benzel Modified: July 3, 2013
Rev. Charles Robert “Bob” Manning was acquitted Wednesday evening of charges that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy and of child porn counts but found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The jury announced the verdict in 4th Judicial District Court.
Formerly the pastor at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in Colorado Springs, Manning was accused of coaxing the boy into a series of sex acts during a booze and pot-fueled encounter in the fall of 2011. He retired in May 2012 when the allegations became public, and after posting $10,000 bond, he obtained a judge’s permission to move into a home for retired priests in the St. Louis, Mo., area.
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.
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