UPDATE:: Judge, prosecutors spare pastor convicted of groping girl at Middleburg Heights pool life sentenceA 75-year-old Ukrainian-born pastor faces life in prison after a jury on Thursday found him guilty of groping a 10-year-old girl at a Middleburg Heights Recreation Center pool this March.
A Ukranian-born pastor who faced a potential life sentence for groping a 10-year-old girl at the Middleburg Heights Recreation Center pool this summer was instead sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday.
Dozens of 75-year-old Nikolay Kalka's friends and family wailed after Judge Kathleen Ann Sutula sent the ailing man to prison for five years, and exchanged words with the judge over the sobs of Kalka's wife and children.
"Twelve jurors found him guilty, not this court," Sutula replied. "Watch the video. God saw."
Kalka faced a potential mandatory life sentence with his first shot at parole in 10 years after a jury found him guilty last month of kidnapping the child with sexual motivation at the pool on May 11.
Nikolay Kalka, who speaks little English and wore an oxygen tube throughout his trial, was led out of courtroom in handcuffs after a jury returned guilty verdicts on gross sexual imposition and kidnapping charges in the March 11 incident.
Because the girl was 10 years old and the jury found he kidnapped her to commit a sexual offense, Kalka now faces a potential mandatory sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility after 10 years.
Ukrainian pastor guilty of groping girl at Middleburg Heights pool | cleveland.com
No comments:
Post a Comment