Christian Sentenced for Felony Theft

Former Arts Director P. David Romei will spend between 30 and 90 days in jail as a condition of his probation, a district judge decided Monday.

He must also pay $268,000 in restitution to the city of College Station and the Arts Council of Brazos Valley. That amount was agreed upon by prosecutors and defense lawyers minutes before Judge Steve Smith determined Romei's terms of probation.

Romei was convicted by a jury in November of felony theft for stealing $7,400 of city money paid to the Arts Council to light a firefighter statue -- a job that was done for free by the electrician. He also was convicted of a misdemeanor for misappropriating funds by making $750 worth of political donations with Arts Council money.

"You gradually transformed from an executive director responsible to a volunteer board to someone who was the Arts Council, and the volunteer board was simply an impediment to your personal goals," Smith said as he read his decision. "I believe I have a duty to ensure that the Arts Council of Brazos Valley and others harmed by your conduct are made as whole as the law permits."

Romei said he was unsure about his plans for the future.

"I will fulfill my obligations under the law here and then I will make a final decision about what I am going to do, but I am much more interested now in living a non-public life," he said, predicting that his academic, nonprofit and government career is over. "Probably much more inclined to a theological future, writing about the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible and correlating it in ways that make my experiences meaningful to other people."

Christian Leader Sentenced for Rape of Teenage Girl

A senior member of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) and two other men have been sentenced to a combined total of 95 years in jail for raping three teenaged girls in separate incidents.

In the first incident, senior ZCC member Alec Mokoena, 37, of Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga was sentenced in the Mdutjane Magistrate's Court on Tuesday to 25 years for raping a 13-year-old church member in January last year.

Siyabuswa police spokesperson Inspector Mbeki Aphane said the girl had gone to Mokoena for help with a personal matter, but was raped throughout the night and released only the following morning.

Pastor Sentenced for Molestation

An Anaheim pastor, who had videotaped himself molesting a 13-year-old parishioner in a church office, cried and clutched a Bible behind his back Monday as he was led from a courtroom in handcuffs after pleading guilty to 34 felony sex counts.

Raul Rosas Hernandez, 44, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno to 90 years in prison after he admitted molesting four girls and one boy over a 10-year span beginning in 1996.

Briseno said the sentence is tantamount to a life term because Hernandez must serve 85 percent of the 90 years before he becomes eligible for parole.

Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown said Hernandez, who was the pastor of Faith in Action Church, could have faced a life term plus 214 years in prison had he been convicted at trial.

She said she agreed to the 90-year sentence in part to save victims the psychological trauma of testifying at Hernandez's trial and – in one case – watching the graphic videotape.

The tape shows a naked Hernandez engaging in various sex acts in his church's office with the 13-year-old girl, Brown said.

Catholc Priest Sentenced for Rape of 8 year old.

A former Akron Catholic priest was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1992 rape of an 8-year-old boy.

Joseph Williams, 64, was a priest from 1969 to 1976. The jury found his guilty of three counts of rape and kidnapping.

The jury also learned that Williams sexually molested a 12-year-old boy beginning in 1984. These crimes occurred outside of Summit County, prosecutors said.