Priest faces lengthy sentence

By Phil Ray
Altoona Mirror
January 02, 2016

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/627254/Priest-faces-lengthy-sentence.html?nav=742

The Altoona Mirror The Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio Jr. of Central City in Somerset County faces a prison term up to 30 years for sexually abusing and photographing children while on missionary trips to the Pro Nino orphanage in El Progresso, Honduras, according to documents filed in U.S. District court in Johnstown.

Maurizio's Altoona attorney Steven P. Passarello on Wednesday filed a petition asking U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson to sentence Maurizio below the recommended federal guidelines, pointing out the priest is 70 years old and has led an exemplary life that included 28 years in the clergy.

The priest was convicted on Sept. 22 of five of eight counts by a federal jury in Johnstown, but in a post-trial opinion, Gibson dismissed one of the counts because it involved a young man who initially gave statements confirming Maurizio's abuse but then recanted when called to the witness stand.