Blanco Monk Sentenced To 80 Years For Child Sex Assault

Yesterday a Blanco County jury sentenced a former monk to 80 years in prison Wednesday for four counts of sexual assault on a minor.

Hughes, 57, was convicted Wednesday on four counts of sexual assault of a child. He showed no emotion as the verdict was read by state District Judge Dan Mills. source

Accusers took the stand on Tuesday:

Two accusers took the stand Tuesday, claiming Russian Orthodox monk William Hughes sexually assaulted them.

One of the accusers testified that when he went to live at the Christ of the Hills Russian Orthodox Monastery in the 1990s as a novice monk, he was sexually assaulted by Hughes. He testified he and other novice monks were told sex was not a sin if it’s blessed by the brotherhood. source

Family struggles with aftermath of clergy sex abuse

A moving article on the terrible after-effects of clergy sexual abuse was published today on WJBC.com.

When you think of clergy sexual abuse, people often think of older adults and young children. However, a couple from Bloomington says their son would have been 26 last week, but Eric Iliff never made it because he said he was abused at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. They say the scars he suffered never healed.

Eric took his own life at a Normal hotel last March, surrounded by family photos and a Bible. His parents consider that a sign that he never lost faith. Administrators removed Father Timothy Blumentritt from his position once Eric told them he was abused. He was later defrocked by the Church. However, Eric struggled with the fact he signed an agreement that never acknowledged publicly what happened to him. Monica Iliff says family and friends questioned how it could happen.

Read the full article.

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