PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com
A former parochial-school teacher, whose conviction of sexually abusing a 10-year-old altar boy from Northeast Philadelphia years was thrown out amid questions about his accuser’s truthfulness, has pleaded no contest to a lesser crime, a decision that allowed him to be released from prison.
Rather than face a new trial, Bernard Shero, 54, a former teacher at St. Jerome school, pleaded no contest Monday to less serious child rape and assault charges and was sentenced to the roughly four years in prison he has already served.
In 2013, Shero was convicted in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, child endangerment, corruption of a minor, and indecent assault, and sentenced to eight to 16 years in prison. He was released Wednesday.
George Bochetto, one of Shero’s lawyers, said he was “deeply, deeply concerned with the way the prosecution took place in this matter.”
Prosecutors declined to comment on the ruling or the plea, citing ongoing litigation in related cases.
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