Guyana Priest Enters Not Guilty Plea to Sexual Contact

Tag: usa

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WTAQ) - A not guilty plea has been entered to a charge that a visiting priest from Guyana had sexual contact with a woman in La Crosse who sought divorce counseling. 47-year-old Reverend Edmund Donkor-Baine stood mute Tuesday, while a La Crosse County circuit judge entered the plea to a charge of fourth-degree sexual assault.

Story Continues below



Prosecutors said the 2 were in a vehicle last August when Donkor-Baine reportedly touched the woman sexually through her clothing, after they discussed her case over smoothies at a La Crosse restaurant. The woman reported the incident to a monsignor. But when a church lawyer found no evidence that a crime occurred, the woman went to law enforcement.

The case stirred a controversy over a long-standing policy in the La Crosse Diocese to make victims of priest sex abuse contact the church instead of the police. The policy was later changed. It now recommends that victims call civil authorities.

http://www.wtaq.com/news/articles/201...al-contac/