Jury recommends jail for convicted Catholic priest

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A St. Louis County jury on Saturday recommended jail time for a Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting a 14-year-old boy eight years ago.

The jury deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before recommending that the Rev. Bryan Kuchar serve one year for each of three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy.

His attorney, Scott Rosenblum, had asked for mercy for Kuchar, who faced up to 21 years in prison. He said he would not appeal the jury's recommendation, noting that avoiding the penitentiary was the larger issue.

St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch said Kuchar deserved more time, and that he will ask that the sentences be served consecutively.

County Circuit Judge John Ross set sentencing for Nov. 7. The judge will decide whether the jail sentences overlap or run back to back.

Kuchar, 38, denied the allegations when he testified during the first phase of his trial, which ended Friday when the jury found him guilty. He did not, however, testify Saturday in the penalty phase of the trial.

The victim, now 23, was 14 when Kuchar was associate pastor in 1995 at a St. Louis County church. He made the allegations for the first time in March 2000 when he was a patient in a drug treatment center.

The young man claimed that he had sex with Kuchar. The priest denied any sexual involvement with the youth.

This was the second trial in the case. A jury in May deadlocked on guilt 6-6.