OHIO
The Plain Dealer
By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer
on September 05, 2014
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A West Side priest pleaded guilty this morning to soliciting sex from an undercover ranger at Edgewater Park last October while failing to divulge he was carrying the AIDS virus.
Under provisions of a plea bargain reached with prosecutors, the Rev. James McGonegal, 69, the former pastor of St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, will enter an early intervention program.
The agreement allows McGonegal to avoid a felony conviction if he successfully completes the program. At that point, the case would be dismissed and his record expunged.
“We’re glad that we have a resolution to this matter,” said defense attorney Henry Hilow. “Father has lived an exemplary life, with the exception of this incident, and we’re glad that this chapter of his life is concluded.”
McGonegal declined to comment.
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