Priest may face resentencing

Ed Koch and Erica D. Johnson

Friday, Aug. 8, 2003 | 11:16 a.m.

Missouri is rejecting Nevada's request to supervise the probation of a Henderson priest who abused five teens, and that could send the controversial case back to District Judge Donald Mosley for resentencing.

On May 30, after pleading guilty to gross misdemeanor charges, Roberts was sentenced to three years probation to be served at a treatment center in Missouri. But Missouri parole and probation officials this morning said Roberts can't be accepted at the center because one of his victims now lives about 20 miles from it.

Amy Wright, the director of the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation, said this morning she had not confirmed that Roberts was rejected from the Missouri program.

The decision in Missouri, once confirmed, would throw the case back to District Judge Donald Mosley, who handed down the sentence based on the plea negotiations.

"The judge was very specific in his intentions, and he reserved the right to resentence the defendant if those intentions were not met," said Lisa Luzaich, a prosecutor in the Clark County District Attorney's Special Victim's Unit who was present at sentencing.

"It is possible he (Roberts) could get prison time if another suitable facility is not found. But, no, I will not stand up and ask for prison time because this has been negotiated. Maybe another facility can be found."

Roberts would have to obtain permission from the Department of Parole and Probation before he could transfer his probation to another jurisdiction, District Attorney David Roger.

Tim Kniest, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Prisons in Jefferson City, said his department did not interview the victim, a 20-year-old man, but that the "victim made his feelings known in the media." Based on that, Kniest said it was determined that Roberts' stay there "would potentially disrupt" the man's life.

Recon, the facility where Roberts was to have stayed, is a treatment center for priests in Dittmer, which is about 50 miles south of St. Louis.

"It has been a long tradition of the department of parole and probation to take into consideration how the proximity of victims affect offenders' behavior," Kniest said.

Luzaich said the reason Mosley specified the Dittmer facility is because it "was lockdown 24-7 -- he (Roberts) would not be walking the streets."

Kneist said probation officials believe that it is just coincidental that Roberts was pegged to come to a state where one of his victims now resides. Luzaich said she "had no idea" a victim lived in Missouri.

Kniest said his department "certainly would review the case at a later date" but that it was "not likely" that would change the minds of some officials to welcome Roberts there.

Roger said the events that have unfolded in Roberts' case are rare.

"It's uncommon for us to require as a condition of probation that an individual leave the state of Nevada," he said. "I suspect that it's also uncommon for another jurisdiction to refuse to accept supervision responsibility for the defendant."

At least one support group of victims abused by clergy has called for an investigation into why Nevada Parole and Probation Department supervisors rejected a caseworker's recommendation of jail time for Roberts. Family members of the victims also have expressed disappointment with the probation sentence.

Wright earlier this week defended the actions of Department of Parole and Probation supervisors, who changed Roberts pre-sentencing recommendation to one of probation, when the official who investigated the case initially recommended five years in jail.

If Roberts is resentenced, she said, the pre-sentencing report requesting probation would likely stand, she said.

"I would not anticipate a request for an additional pre-sentencing report," she said. "All the information is there."

Debbie Tullgren, the mother of one of the teens Roberts abused, said she understands that Roberts is still being housed in Las Vegas.

An attorney for the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas said last week that she was not aware of Roberts' location.

As a condition of his plea agreement, Roberts was required to resign from the priesthood. He is in the process of being defrocked, according to Las Vegas Diocese officials.

Tullgren said she is happy that Roberts could return to District Court to be sentenced.

"That gives us the opportunity to get a stiffer sentence," she said. "We're looking forward to that."

Tullgren said she hopes the controversy regarding Roberts' pre-sentencing report will encourage Mosley to send Roberts to jail.

"In light of the fact that Judge Mosley is aware that the initial recommendation recommended jail time and was changed for no reason, hopefully he can make the correct decision."