Back in 2005 57-year-old Dale Fushek was arrested on several charges involving sex with children. The Monsignor, and second-highest ranking official with the Catholic Dioceses in Phoenix, Arizona, was accused of fondling seven young boys while he was working at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Mesa back in the ‘80s.
Rather than seek the maximum penalty for this predatory pedophile the prosecutors in Arizona offered a plea deal which Fushek took. He was able to plea guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Assault and everything else has been dismissed. In return Fushek received 364 days of probation.
The Catholic Diocese in Phoenix issued the following statement after Fushek’s guilty plea.
The Diocese of Phoenix was informed today that Dale Fushek entered a plea agreement with the Maricopa County Attorneys Office regarding charges of a Class 3 Misdemeanor Assault. Fushek, a former priest of the Diocese of Phoenix, was laicized by Pope Benedict XVI in December of 2009. The Diocese of Phoenix is saddened when ever a member of the clergy has engaged in inappropriate contact with a minor. As Catholics, we are aware of the anguish of those affected by these tragedies including victims, families, parishioners and the general public. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted asks that everyone pray to God for healing in the lives of those involved.
In accord with Diocesan policy and procedures, the Diocese cooperated with the Maricopa County Attorneys Office in its investigation. For nearly 20 years, the Diocese of Phoenix has maintained and continually updated a comprehensive policy and a set of procedures for the protection of minors to assist the Catholic community in prevention, reporting and healing of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse. The policy and its procedures underscore the Dioceses firm commitment to make informed decisions about the fitness of accused priests; to cooperate with civil authorities in the investigation of all allegations; and to encourage victims to come forward. As always, Bishop Olmsted and the Diocese of Phoenix encourages anyone who has experienced sexual misconduct or abuse by a member of the clergy or by any worker in the Church to make a report to local law enforcement and to contact the Office of Child and Youth Protection at (602) 354-2396.
Someone please explain to me why we have such a disparaging difference in the way people are prosecuted and why the residents of Arizona shouldn’t be horrified with this sentence. On one hand you have people like Brandy Mullikin who I wrote about this morning or how about some of the guys that are 18-20 that get caught with their 16-17 year old girlfriends. They end up branded as sex offenders and get jail time along with their lives being screwed and here we have a serial predator who basically gets off with a slap on the wrist.
