Sunday, May 20, 2012

Ex-priest guilty of conspiring to kill boy who accused him of rape

via Raw Story

A former Roman Catholic priest was found guilty on Thursday of hiring a hit man to kill a boy who had accused him of sexual abuse.

John Fiala, 53, showed no emotion as a Dallas jury found him guilty of plotting to kill the boy, according to The Dallas Morning News. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

Prosecutors said that Fiala had tried to hire at hit man for $5,000 in November 2010, but the would-be assassin turned out to be an undercover police officer...Tom Rhodes, an attorney for the accuser, in 2008 said that Fiala had been “grooming” the boy by buying him gifts like a computer and a car...The accuser said that attacks took place in Fiala’s rectory and in vehicles. At one point, he said Fiala “put a gun to the boy’s head in forcing him to perform a sex act,” the paper reported...Fiala is also facing four counts of sex crimes against children in Edwards County, Texas. more...