Man Says Priest Threatened Him With a Gun

Threat reportedly came after allegations of abuse

Testimony has resumed in the penalty phase of a former Roman Catholic priest convicted of plotting the death of a man who accused him of sexual abuse.

The accuser told Dallas County jurors on Friday that John M. Fiala sexually assaulted him -- at least once by gunpoint -- when he was a boy in West Texas but he was too scared to tell anyone because the priest threatened to hurt his family.

Fiala, who was found guilty Thursday, faces up to life in prison for solicitation of capital murder.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the now 20-year-old testified that the attacks occurred in vehicles, a church building and hotel rooms.

The hit man Fiala hired to kill his accuser for $5,000 was actually an undercover police officer.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us