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	Priest Denies That He Ever Fondled Boy He Counseled By Sue Lindsay Rocky Mountain News [Colorado] April 6, 2007 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5468226,00.html A former Catholic priest took the stand in his own defense in Jefferson County Thursday, flatly denying that he ever fondled a 17-year-old boy. Timothy Evans, 43, on trial for sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, said he met with the boy only once, in June 1996, and that his close relationship with the boy's devout family continued after that. "Nobody ever raised an issue with me" regarding the boy, he said. He denied the boy's testimony that Evans asked him to lie on the floor and then fondled his genitals during a counseling session. The boy's parents said they sent their son to Evans because he had seen a movie about witchcraft and had several books about it. Although they said they were upset by what allegedly happened, the family did not tell anyone about it until years later. Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon said the boy made up his story after hearing other allegations of sexual abuse against Evans, who was convicted last week in Fort Collins on a similar charge. Evans also denied ever touching the genitals of the boy in the Fort Collins case, although he admitted he may have in a taped conversation with the boy. "I loved you deeply," he told the boy. "Anything I did was born out of my love for you in inappropriate ways." Evans testified that he caressed the body of another young man while counseling him about entering the priesthood, but said he did not touch his genitals. But Evans admitted that he touched the genitals of another man, a 25-year-old who came to him for spiritual counseling, but said it was not for sexual gratification. "It was a gentle way of letting someone else know that I care about them and they are important to me," he said. He said he used a touching exercise as a means of building trust and helping his subjects overcome problems with being vulnerable. But touching genitals was not a part of the exercise, he said. "I am a believer in the power of touch," he said. "I believe it is very scriptural. Jesus often touched people he was not supposed to touch." When prosecutor Zach Phillips told Evans that he could not refuse to answer questions by citing the confidentiality between a priest and parishioner because the boy had waived confidentiality and testified about what happened, Evans replied, "He is not my God." "We are not in God's courtroom, we are in Judge (Margie) Enquist's courtroom," Phillips replied. Contact: indsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181
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