Former Priest Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail, by Michele Reaves, The Post-Standard, September 10, 2007

Former Priest Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail

By Michele Reaves
The Post-Standard
September 10, 2007

http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/09/former_priest_sentenced_to_60.html

Former Catholic Priest Francis DeLuca will serve 60 days in jail for molesting a teenage boy in Syracuse, where he settled after retiring in Delaware.

Francis DeLuca, 77, a former priest, listens to Judge Kate Rosenthal in handcuffs at the criminal courthouse in Syracuse Monday.
Photo by Celia Tobin

DeLuca, 77, at first faced only probation, but City Judge Kate Rosenthal backed out of that deal. She said it appeared DeLuca had failed to understand the consequences of his conduct.

The judge sentenced DeLuca today to do six years' probation in addition to the jail time and declared him a Level 1 sex offender under the state's registry act.

DeLuca offered an apology in court to his family and friends. The he was taken into custody and sent to the Onondaga County Correctional Facility to begin his jail time.

DeLuca came to Syracuse in 1993, after he was dismissed from public ministry in Delaware. He was accused in Delaware of sexually abusing a minor 30 years earlier.

A man, who claims DeLuca molested him as a teenager in Delaware in the 1960s, was present in city court Monday afternoon to see the former priest sentenced.