[Sxedlawb]

Priest gets 7 years jail for abusing maid

2010/08/05

SAN JOSE: A Honduran Catholic priest was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing his 48-year-old maid, but remains free pending an appeal.

Manuel Serrano, 63, was also given a 12,000-dollar fine for damages and court costs and was suspended from the church for abusing the woman when she worked in his parish house in 2008, in a San Jose suburb.

Serrano, who has worked in Costa Rica for last six years, denied the allegations during the trial and claimed to have been “acquitted by divine justice.”

He remains free, pending further motions before a higher court. -- AFP