The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati pleaded no contest yesterday to charges of failing to tell authorities about sex abuse allegations.
Judge Richard Niehaus sentenced the archdiocese to $10,000 (£6250) in fines on five misdemeanour charges.
Mike Allen, prosecuting, read out the five charges of failure to report a felony in Hamilton County common pleas court.
Each charge regarded "an institutional knowledge that certain felony sex crimes involving minors occurred".
Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, represented the church. Asked by the judge if he understood the implications of the plea agreement, Pilarczyk replied: "Yes sir, I do."
The plea is not an admission of guilt – the archdiocese has acknowledged no wrongdoing – but means the accused will not fight the charges.
Two grand juries have investigated whether archdiocesan priests molested children, and whether church officials failed to come forward when they learned of abuse charges.
The plea enabled the archdiocese to sidestep a possible indictment. Cincinnati's case is the third involving sex abuse charges in which church leaders have made a deal with prosecutors to avoid a criminal trial.
Thomas O'Brien, a former bishop in Phoenix, Arizona, avoided charges of obstructing justice by acknowledging he hid abuse allegations against priests. In New Hampshire, prosecutors were pursuing misdemeanour charges under the state's child endangerment laws when church officials agreed to a settlement.AP
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati pleaded no contest yesterday to charges of failing to tell authorities about sex abuse allegations.
Judge Richard Niehaus sentenced the archdiocese to $10,000 (£6250) in fines on five misdemeanour charges.
Mike Allen, prosecuting, read out the five charges of failure to report a felony in Hamilton County common pleas court.
Each charge regarded "an institutional knowledge that certain felony sex crimes involving minors occurred".
Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, represented the church. Asked by the judge if he understood the implications of the plea agreement, Pilarczyk replied: "Yes sir, I do."
The plea is not an admission of guilt – the archdiocese has acknowledged no wrongdoing – but means the accused will not fight the charges.
Two grand juries have investigated whether archdiocesan priests molested children, and whether church officials failed to come forward when they learned of abuse charges.
The plea enabled the archdiocese to sidestep a possible indictment. Cincinnati's case is the third involving sex abuse charges in which church leaders have made a deal with prosecutors to avoid a criminal trial.
Thomas O'Brien, a former bishop in Phoenix, Arizona, avoided charges of obstructing justice by acknowledging he hid abuse allegations against priests. In New Hampshire, prosecutors were pursuing misdemeanour charges under the state's child endangerment laws when church officials agreed to a settlement.AP
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati pleaded no contest yesterday to charges of failing to tell authorities about sex abuse allegations.
Judge Richard Niehaus sentenced the archdiocese to $10,000 (£6250) in fines on five misdemeanour charges.
Mike Allen, prosecuting, read out the five charges of failure to report a felony in Hamilton County common pleas court.
Each charge regarded "an institutional knowledge that certain felony sex crimes involving minors occurred".
Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, represented the church. Asked by the judge if he understood the implications of the plea agreement, Pilarczyk replied: "Yes sir, I do."
The plea is not an admission of guilt – the archdiocese has acknowledged no wrongdoing – but means the accused will not fight the charges.
Two grand juries have investigated whether archdiocesan priests molested children, and whether church officials failed to come forward when they learned of abuse charges.
The plea enabled the archdiocese to sidestep a possible indictment. Cincinnati's case is the third involving sex abuse charges in which church leaders have made a deal with prosecutors to avoid a criminal trial.
Thomas O'Brien, a former bishop in Phoenix, Arizona, avoided charges of obstructing justice by acknowledging he hid abuse allegations against priests. In New Hampshire, prosecutors were pursuing misdemeanour charges under the state's child endangerment laws when church officials agreed to a settlement.