WASHINGTON
The Columbian
By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Courts Reporter
Published: June 10, 2016
A Catholic priest who was sentenced last month to four months in jail for trying to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car in Vancouver’s Image neighborhood will now serve a portion of his sentence on a work crew.
Michael T. Patrick, 60, was back in Clark County Superior Court on Friday to review whether he had qualified to serve his four-month sentence through the Clark County Jail’s work-release program. The program allows inmates to work outside in the community and be confined when they’re not at work.
Patrick’s defense attorney, Thomas Phelan, told the court it is still unclear if Patrick will have his job, which would allow him to qualify for the program.
Patrick, the former pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Scappoose, Ore., is not currently assigned to a parish and is being investigated by the Archdiocese of Portland, spokesman David Renshaw previously told The Columbian. Patrick’s status will not change until the investigation is complete, he said.
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