KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal
Claire Galofaro, The Courier-Journal; May 30, 2014
A dying Catholic priest was sent straight to prison Friday to begin his 15-year sentence for molesting a boy four decades ago, despite asking the judge for mercy.
James Schook, 66, was convicted last month of three counts sodomy and one count indecent or immoral practice for molesting a teenage altar boy for years in the 1970s, beginning when he was 13. A jury recommended he spend 15 years in prison.
Schook on Friday asked Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry to consider his age and his terminal cancer, and order that he serve his time on probation rather than prison. His attorney, David Lambertus, tried to convince the judge that a dying priest posed no threat to the community, and would cost taxpayers untold fortunes in medical care in prison.
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