KENTUCKY
WHAS
[with video]
Shay McAlister, WHAS May 11, 2017
MEADE CO., Ky. (WHAS11) — A local priest convicted of sexually abusing children is heading to trial on additional charges. Father Joseph Hemmerle is a Louisville native and former Trinity High School teacher.
He was accused of abusing a 10-year old boy in the 1970s and convicted of the crimes in 2016. In court Thursday, his attorney denied a plea agreement on his behalf, agreeing to go to trial.
Inside a packed courtroom at the Meade County Courthouse, Prosecutor Leilani K.M. Martin was ready to sign off on a deal she called “forgiving and lenient.”
“We spent weeks hammering out a plea agreement and it was a very faithful plea agreement. The victim agreed to it because he is a practicing, practices his faith,” Martin said.
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