A Catholic priest has reached a plea agreement on sexual abuse charges that occurred at a summer camp he ran for decades in Kentucky.
R. Joseph Hemmerle was facing allegations of abuse from a second person who said Hemmerle abused him at Camp Tall Trees in Meade County. Hemmerle was also convicted in November of abusing a boy who attended the camp in the 1970s and sentenced in February to seven years imprisonment.
Prosecutors say Hemmerle’s plea deal for sexual abuse and wanton endangerment calls for an additional two years imprisonment and eight years of probation. The deal was reached Wednesday.
Hemmerle entered an Alford plea Wednesday, which means he didn’t admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors could win a conviction in court.
Hemmerle led the summer camp from 1970 to 2001 and also taught at Louisville Trinity High School from 1967 to 2001.
He has been on administrative leave since 2014. An Archdiocese of Louisville spokeswoman said she could not comment until she received information on the plea agreement.
Source: AP
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