Ohio priest gets life in prison for grooming, sex trafficking boys with opioid addictions

Salamendacious@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 408 points – Ohio priest gets life in prison for grooming, sex trafficking boys with opioid addictions
local12.com

TOLEDO, Ohio (WKRC) - A Catholic priest in Ohio was sentenced to life in prison for grooming and sex trafficking children and adults.

56-year-old Rev. Michael Jude Zacharias was convicted on one count of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, and two counts of sex trafficking an adult by force, fraud, or coercion.

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Seriously, can someone make it so priests can get married at this point? Maybe then Catholicism can return to be a religion instead of what seems like a business front-end for a shady "hobby." It wouldn't cure these men of their "issues" but at least adults who like other adults would be pushed towards the front more.

Also, people need to stop going to Toledo. It's literally one of the worst places in the US for sex trafficking.

You believe people become abusing sex traffickers because they don't have a wife?

People who seek to control other people are attracted to positions where they have access to vulnerable people.

You could also argue that religious people have surprisingly often fucked up moral values. Beginning with believing you can pray away your sins instead of taking responsibility. Or that people are of different worth.

But the idea that marriage makes people less likely to be abusers is a theroy that doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion.

"It wouldn’t cure these men of their “issues” but at least adults who like other adults would be pushed towards the front more."

I agree completely. The church could put certain restrictions on it if they wanted. For example, all relationships need to be approved, only priests and nuns can marry, you need to have already been a priest for a certain time before you can get married, etc. I don't think it'll happen in the near future unfortunately.

When pope francis stepped up, therewas a petition to allow married men to be priests. As far as I can tell it didn't go anywhere. But at least it's been brought up officially.

As another person replied, the issue is related to property. It seems the Catholic Church is worried somehow the priest's offspring will somehow inherit church property?

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