OHIO
The Plain Dealer
By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer
on August 18, 2014
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The soliciting case against a Cleveland priest was thrown into doubt this morning after a judge questioned the constitutionality of the law governing the crime he was charged with.
The Rev. James McGonegal, 69, the former pastor of St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, is charged with soliciting sex from an undercover ranger at Edgewater Park last October.
The charge is a felony because McGonegal is HIV positive, but failed to divulge this to his intended partner.
McGonegal’s scheduled trial in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court today was postponed after defense attorney Henry Hilow asked the judge to consider his argument that the Ohio statute used to charge his client is outdated, and the case should be dismissed.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.