ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Sam Levin Mon., Jul. 8 2013

Charles Manning, who was ordained as a St. Louis priest in 1997, has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a fifteen-year-old boy, but a jury ruled that he was guilty of supplying the teen with marijuana and alcohol.

A jury reached its verdict last week in Colorado Springs, where Manning was transferred in 2007. The allegation of sexual abuse — including claims that the now 78-year-old priest was behaving like a “jealous lover” toward the boy — surfaced in January 2012, prompting a local police investigation and a period of leave for Manning.

Now, the priest is free on bond but could face up to six years in prison for the guilty conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor connected to the drug charges.