Ex-Redding priest sentenced to eight years in prison

CALIFORNIA
Record Searchlight

By Record Searchlight staff
Posted August 2, 2013

SACRAMENTO – A former Redding priest who pleaded no contest last month to molesting a teenage girl was sentenced today to eight years in prison.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 33, who faced 20 years in prison if he had been convicted at trial, took a plea bargain in July that called for an eight-year sentence.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Ojeda made his first public statements on the issue prior to the sentencing.

“My actions were those of a weak and sinful man,” The Bee reported him as saying.

The victim and her family also submitted written statements, calling Ojeda a coward who betrayed their trust.

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