CALIFORNIA
Patch
By John Crandall
August 24, 2012
Before a judge could sentence him to a year in jail for molesting a second-grader almost 20 years ago, retired priest Denis Lyons of Leisure World had to listen to the anguished words of those he hurt.
“Today is the day I finally have closure. I have spent the last 16 years living in pain, living in shame. He took away my innocence as a child. This man has ruined my life and many others besides me,” his now grownup victim said Friday in a victim’s impact statement. “He has changed my perception of religion, life, and right and wrong. Him pleading guilty not only gives me closure but gives other victims closure as well. He is a bad person, a bad man.”
Those words hung in the air as a judge sentenced Lyons, formerly employed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County to one year in jail, five years of formal probation, 400 hours of community service and lifetime sex offender registration.
The victim’s mother also shared her pain and the depth of betrayal she felt when a man of the cloth abused her son.
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