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\nA Catholic priest has reached a plea agreement on sexual abuse charges that occurred at a summer camp he ran for decades in Kentucky.<\/p>\n
\nA Catholic priest has reached a plea agreement on sexual abuse charges that occurred at a summer camp he ran for decades in Kentucky.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Hemmerle entered an Alford plea Wednesday, which means he didn’t admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors could win a conviction in court.<\/p>\n
Hemmerle led the summer camp from 1970 to 2001 and also taught at Louisville Trinity High School from 1967 to 2001.<\/p>\n
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.
\nSource: AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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