Ex-Catholic priest given 22 years in prison for attempting to sexually abuse a boy in South Carolina

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former Catholic priest in South Carolina has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for trying to sexually assault a boy and showing him pornography. Prosecutors say 69-year-old Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias was a priest for more than 30 years after being ordained in his native Chile. The FBI says he met the 11-year-old boy and his family while working in 2020 in three small churches in South Carolina towns. Agents say the priest took the boy on a beach vacation to Florida in November 2020 where he attempted to sexually assault the child and showed him pornography. The priest is also known in several parishes as “Father Gonzales.”