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	Former Chandler Priest Pleads Guilty in Sex Case Associated Press, carried in AZFamily October 17, 2006 http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20061017_chandler-priest.49ee1296.html Phoenix -- A new development in the case of a former Catholic priest in Chandler accused of sexually abusing a teenaged boy more than 20 years ago. Joseph Briceno went on trial last Wednesday on six counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of attempted sexual contact and one count of sexual abuse. Today, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said Briceno pleaded guilty two count counts of sexual conduct with a minor. Under the plea agreement, it says, Briceno faces up a maximum of 21 months in prison when he's sentenced Dec. 15. The charges against Briceno, who is now 60, arise from the priest's relationship with the victim from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chandler in the early 1980s. He's been in jail since last December. Briceno's lawyer said the trial was only about the desire of the alleged victim, now 42, to try to lay a foundation so he could sue the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.
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