BishopAccountability.org
	Defrocked Mo. Priest to Stay in Prison Associated Press, carried in The Kansas City Star [St. Louis MO] May 10, 2005 ST. LOUIS - A defrocked priest whose sexual misconduct conviction was thrown out wants to stay behind bars for fear he will be a "sitting duck" to vigilantes, his lawyer said Tuesday. The Missouri Supreme Court last Friday ordered James Beine freed after tossing out his conviction on charges he exposed himself to boys in an elementary school restroom. The court ruled Missouri's sexual misconduct law is too broad. Prosecutors plan to challenge the ruling. In the meantime, Beine, 63, can leave prison under house arrest. But "he's afraid now there could be a lot of people out there who believe it's their duty to take some action," said his attorney Larry Fleming. "He worries that the condition of his bond is home confinement, and that would make him a sitting duck." Beine was dismissed from the priesthood in 1977 over allegations of sexual abuse, and in the mid-1990s the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis paid $110,000 to settle two lawsuits accusing Beine of molesting boys.