Priest Gets Prison in Attack on Woman
Pastor Dale Morgan
Priest Gets Prison in Attack on Woman*
By KEN RITTER,
Associated Press Writer
LAS VEGAS - A Roman Catholic priest who smashed a wine bottle over a
woman's head in a church office attack was sentenced Thursday to four to
12 years in state prison.
The Rev. George Chaanine, 53, had pleaded guilty Sept. 20 to felony
battery with a deadly weapon and faced a possible two to 15 years in
prison in a plea deal that avoided trial.
Prosecutors dropped other charges, including attempted murder, sexual
assault and kidnapping, that could have resulted in a sentence of life
in prison with parole. The duration of his sentence hinges on whether he
is approved for parole.
In court Thursday, Chaanine denied he sexually assaulted the woman and
offered an apology and a rambling statement about his feelings for her
before he was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, court information
officer Michael Sommermeyer said.
"He loved her," Chaanine's court-appointed lawyer, Jeff Banks, said
later. "His emotions got the better of him. It was the biggest mistake
of his life, and he's going to have to come to grips with it."
The woman, then 54, said Chaanine hit her in the head with a wine
bottle, stomped on her hand, groped her and choked her until she began
praying Jan. 26. She said he suddenly stopped and fled. Chaanine was
arrested almost a week later near Phoenix.
The woman was treated for a broken hand and a gash on the head,
authorities said.
The victim and her adult daughter gave long statements about the effect
the attack had on them. The victim told Clark County District Court
Judge Michelle Leavitt that the attack caused her to lose her faith in
the church and that she didn't want to live anymore.
She sang in the Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church choir and had been
hired by Chaanine as the parish event coordinator.
Both sides have said Chaanine's relationship with the woman was more
than priest and parishioner. The woman testified at Chaanine's
preliminary hearing that he gave her money to help pay her bills and
mortgage and treated her to lunch daily. But she said they were not
romantically involved.
The church did not pay for his defense.
Bishop Joseph Pepe, the head of the Las Vegas Diocese, issued a
statement saying Chaanine remained suspended from his "priestly ministry."