Council Bluffs priest sentenced to register as sex offender, given probation

Attorney: Former St. Albert principal plans to appeal conviction

By Mike Bell

Rev. Paul Monahan

The Rev. Paul Monahan was sentenced Friday to a suspended prison sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender for all five counts of invasion of privacy after he turned down a deferred judgement.

Associate Judge Gary Anderson sentenced Monahan, 83, to a suspended sentence of 30 days in jail per each count to be served concurrently, a year of informal probation and to register as a sex offender for 10 years. A minimum fine was also suspended.

After the year of probation, Monahan will have be supervised for 10 years on special parole.

Monahan’s attorney, Dan McGinn, said his client plans to file an appeal over the conviction.

In December 2016, Monahan was found guilty after a bench trial of invading the privacy of five male high school students who said the retired priest looked at their genitals in a public restroom.

Monahan’s actions led to the judge’s conclusion Monahan intentionally violated the privacy rights of the boys, Anderson wrote in his decision.

In Iowa, invasion of privacy is an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries a maximum two-year prison sentence and/or a fine between $625 and $6,250.

Monahan is the former principal at St. Albert High School and a veteran priest in southwest Iowa. He did not take the stand during his trial, which was in November 2016.

During the trial, the students testified that while at a track meet at Treynor High School on April 4, 2016, Monahan had entered the restroom nine times and took a position at the urinal next to one of the teens despite others being open. They said he then stepped back and intentionally looked down at their genitals.

Monahan’s physician testified at the trial that his frequent visits to the restroom were because of a medical condition rather than any sexual desire. Monahan’s attorney, Bill McGinn, said during the trial that his client often looked down because of a “crick” in his neck.

Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case, could not be reached to comment on the sentencing. Dan McGinn declined to comment on the sentencing.

The Diocese of Des Moines issued a statement on the verdict Friday evening. The statement notes that Monahan was not required to undergo sex offender treatment and suggests the appeal could take at least a year.

Bishop Richard Pates called for “heartfelt prayers for all who have been affected by these proceedings.”

“We remember in these prayers the alleged victims, as well as Father Monahan, who is enduring severe stress, and any others who may have been affected,” Pates said in a statement. “For the benefit of all, we pray that the matter be resolved fully in minimum time.”

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