FLORIDA
Herald-Tribune
By J. David McSwane
Published: Friday, March 1, 2013
SARASOTA – A Catholic priest could face up to life in prison after a jury found him guilty Friday of eight counts of illegal sexual activity with a teenage boy.
William C. Wert, now 56, had a recurring sexual relationship with a 14-year-old Nokomis boy in which the two exchanged explicit text messages that became key pieces of evidence for the prosecution.
“What was interesting of course was that we had the text message back-and-forth which showed kind of the context of the relationship,” said Assistant State Attorney Dawn Buff, who prosecuted the case before Circuit Court Judge Frederick Mercurio.
“You see how he’s wooing him and how he’s engaging this child in a relationship.”
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