Priest Sentenced to Six Months

Update on the Diocese of Orange's problems. Please note that this priest is not a Diocesan priest, but is an Augustinian assigned to a parish in Santa Ana.

In a case the judge called a "double betrayal," a Catholic priest who took a 17-year-old parishioner to a motel room, gave him alcohol and then tried to grope him was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in jail for the crime.

On Jan. 3, [Luis Eduardo] Ramirez – the church's youth director – brought the boy and, some tequila, to an Anaheim motel. There, he gave the youth the alcohol. He put his head on the boy's lap, tried to reach under the boy's shirt.

It was revealed in court Wednesday that the priest had a rap sheet, and had been convicted in 2006 for drunk driving in Orange County. That case warranted a sentence of three years probation.

But Ramirez's attorney, Gary Pohlson, asked for leniency. He held up a wad of letters written by parishioners who support the priest, saying he has gotten about 2,000 letters.

"He is very remorseful for what he's done to the young man and the pain he's caused the young man's family," Pohlson told the judge.

Parishioners packed the room. When the judge announced his decision, two burst out sobbing. One supporter had to be dragged outside, his face red with anger.

"He's a good man," said another parishioner, Leonardo Cortez. "These are lies.''

This guy took a plea bargain and admitted the facts of the case. What angered me was I wonder how many of those 2,000 letters were written before the facts were released. These are not lies.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," according to a diocese statement.

Is this another example of the Diocese knowing that this man was suspect, given his rap sheet, but assigning him anyway? What can Brown do to you?

Good - bastard can think about repentence while in the slammer.