OREGON
The Register-Guard
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard
MARCH 3, 2017
A jury on Thursday deliberated less than 90 minutes before finding a Eugene priest guilty of paying for sex with an underage prostitute.
Daniel MacKay, 42, will return to Lane County Circuit Court next Thursday for sentencing. He faces a potential jail sentence. His lawyer, Terri Wood, declined comment after Judge Karrie McIntyre read the verdict.
The victim in the case was in the courtroom when the verdict was read, as were nearly 20 of MacKay’s friends and relatives. One of the priest’s friends, Patrick White, said he was “really shocked” by the jury’s decision after having listened to testimony in the case.
Jurors listened to nearly two hours’ worth of closing arguments from Wood and prosecutor JoAnn Miller before beginning deliberations shortly after 3 p.m.
Miller also declined comment after the verdict was returned.
MacKay testified in his own defense Wednesday and denied the allegations. He said that he met with the teenager and gave her money on several occasions because she appeared homeless and needy, and that he sometimes provides similar help to others in his neighborhood.
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