FLORIDA
Sun Sentinel
By Rafael Olmeda and Tonya Alanez, Sun Sentinel
12:20 p.m. EST, January 28, 2013
A retired priest convicted of molesting a young boy and accused of preying on dozens of others was sentenced Monday to 15 years in Florida State Prison.
Neil Doherty, 69, pleaded no contest earlier this month to criminal charges brought against him on behalf of one victim, a man who grew up across the street from St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Church in Margate, where Doherty was the pastor. The man accused Doherty of drugging him and having sex with him.
As part of a plea negotiation, Doherty faced a maximum 15-year prison sentence, though he pleaded for leniency through his lawyer, David Bogenschutz, who argued that Doherty’s age and frail condition made him unlikely to offend again.
Broward Circuit Judge Kenneth Gillespie was unmoved, sentencing Doherty to the maximum allowable term.
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