Michael Zacharias’s victims said the priest waited until they began abusing drugs before he sexually trafficked them

A Roman Catholic priest received a life sentence on Friday for his convictions on five counts related to sex-trafficking charges in the molestation of three boys whom prosecutors say he met at an Ohio preschool and coerced to continue sexual activity as adults.

Michael Zacharias, 56, received concurrent, maximum life sentences for counts of sex trafficking a minor and sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud or coercion. He received concurrent 20-year sentences for two counts of sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud or coercion, and one of similarly trafficking a minor.

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Allow priest to get married and maybe you get more applicants from outside the sexually frustrated pedophile bucket.

    • flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Hell yeah. I can’t believe the blind spot they have about this. Of course abstinence creates problems. I understand their rationale, but it’s so willfully naïve it’s almost like they’re working with an ulterior motive

      • creamed_eels@toast.ooo
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        1 year ago

        IIRC I read the abstinence thing was instituted to prevent any possible offspring from inheriting church assets. Certainly the billions and billions in church assets are now locked down in an iron clad, convoluted off-shore scheme beyond the reach of pretty much everyone, so no reason to not let priests marry.

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t think abstinence is driving them to be pedophiles, but that the Church won’t oust pedophiles. Their reaction to all these stories wasn’t a joint investigation with governments to find all instances of abuse and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law – it was to circle their wagons, keep it a secret, and just internally “discipline” them.

      It’s the same reason why Republicans seem to so often turn up pedophiles. The mentality of “keep it all in the family” leads to the sick fucks not being kicked to the curb, because they don’t want anyone to hear about it. They have a culture of covering up abuses instead of loudly denouncing them.

      • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        You misunderstood my comment. I believe that abstinence keeps many people from pursuing a life in the church. To an incredibly lesser degree It is also possible that a life of celibacy might attract certain pedophiles who are battling their urges. Use the church as a way to seek refuge from temptation.

    • rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Alas, the fundies seem to have problems with their priests too. I’ve seem more headlines of them diddling adults than kids though. Progress!