BishopAccountability.org

Eugene priest heading to trial on prostitution charges

By Jack Moran
Register-Guard
February 23, 2017

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35304801-75/eugene-priest-heading-to-trial-on-prostitution-charges.html.csp

In this photo from 2010, Deacon Daniel Mackay touches his vestment to his forehead as he helps conduct the sacred liturgy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Photo by Paul Carter

With a trial in the case set to begin, Lane County prosecutors have dismissed the lone felony charge against a Eugene priest charged with paying for sex with an underage girl.

The move, announced ­Tuesday in a court filing by ­Lane County Assistant District Attorney JoAnn Miller, means that Daniel James MacKay will go to trial on nine misdemeanor charges. A six-member jury is expected to be seated in the case on Thursday.

The felony charge accused MacKay of attempting to use a minor in the commission of a controlled substance offense. It alleged MacKay had used an underage girl to help him make or distribute cocaine.

MacKay, 42, now is charged with four counts of prostitution, four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and one count of sexual misconduct.

MacKay has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer, Terri Wood, said after Mac­Kay’s arrest in October that her client maintains his ­innocence.

MacKay became a priest at the St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church in the Whiteaker neighborhood in 2011. After his arrest, the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church announced it had suspended MacKay from church duties pending the outcome of his criminal case and a separate investigation being conducted by church officials.

Eugene police arrested MacKay after a detective arranged a meeting with him while posing as the alleged victim in the case. The girl had been arrested in September for prostitution, police said.

Prosecutors said Wednesday in court that they had dismissed prostitution charges filed against the alleged victim so that she may testify against MacKay.

The alleged victim was 17 at the time of MacKay’s arrest but recently turned 18.

In addition to serving with the church, MacKay worked ­before his arrest as a part-time instructor at Lane ­Community College. MacKay began ­teaching English composition at the ­college in 2008.

Jury selection in MacKay’s trial is expected to occur Thursday.

Attorneys spent Wednesday working through pretrial motions with Lane County Circuit Judge Karrie McIntyre.

MacKay faces jail time if convicted.

Contact: jack.moran@registerguard.com




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