Judge Withdraws Sentencing Commitment For Priest Who Pleaded Guilty to Sodomy
By Frank Eltman
Originally published by The Associated Press, May 21, 2002
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island judge has withdrawn his sentencing commitment for a priest who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sodomy charges involving a teen-age boy.
Nassau County Court Judge Donald DeRiggi said Tuesday that the reversal of his commitment to sentence the Rev. Michael Hands to six months in jail and five years of probation now gives Hands the option to withdraw his plea.
DeRiggi did not give any reasons for the move.
Hands, 35, admitted in March to having sex with the boy, who was 13 or 14 at the time, in his living quarters at the St. Raphael Rectory in East Meadow. The relationship began in 1999 and lasted for a little over a year.
Hands was charged with five counts of sodomy and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. Hands is next scheduled to appear before DeRiggi on June 13.
Similar charges are pending against Hands in neighboring Suffolk County, where his next court date is scheduled for June 11. Hands is reportedly cooperating with the Suffolk district attorney's investigation of sex abuse by clergy.
Peter Rubin, Hands' lawyer, said his client had not decided whether he would withdraw his guilty plea.
Hands is in the midst of a 12-step sex abuse treatment program, Rubin said, adding: "Anything that sets back my client's ability to get treatment" is negative.
Rubin said his client, arrested about a year ago, was "not a predator," maintaining that the priest had a long-term, consensual relationship with his accuser. He distinguished Hands from priests who have been accused of widespread sexual abuse of minors.
"Hands is not in the same category," Rubin said. "To clump together all accused priest cases is, in my opinion, not fair."
Rubin said that he was "hoping for a global resolution" of his client's cases in Nassau and Suffolk before his next court appearance.
In a statement, Nassau District Attorney Denis Dillon said that while his office does intend to take a position on sentencing, "there are a number of variables that need to be considered before we reach a final position."
