UNITED STATES
Metro
By Aidan Radnedge Thursday 14 Mar 2013
A Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl revealed in court he had been secretly married for more than a decade.
William Finnegan claims he could not have attacked the 17-year-old because he was enjoying a healthy sex life with his wife – in flagrant disregard of his vow of celibacy.
The 59-year-old says he kept his marriage a secret from his superiors but accepts he will now be thrown out of the church and lose his livelihood even if found not guilty.
His lawyer told the court the priest married Beverley Dawson overseas in September 1999.
Jeremy Hill-Baker said: ‘So deeply in love was he that he was prepared to ignore the Catholic Church’s ban on marriage, a secret which has been kept from almost everyone until now.’
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