{"id":1877,"date":"2007-09-21T17:27:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-21T17:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/what-happens-in-vegas.html"},"modified":"2007-09-21T17:27:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-21T17:27:00","slug":"what-happens-in-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/what-happens-in-vegas.html","title":{"rendered":"What happens in Vegas…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> A bizarre story of priestly criminality<\/a> crossed the wires this afternoon from, of all places, Las Vegas: <\/p>\n

A Roman Catholic priest who smashed a wine bottle over the head of a woman in church pleaded guilty to felony battery with a deadly weapon. <\/p>\n

The Rev. George Chaanine admitted Thursday in Clark County District Court that he smashed the bottle over the 54-year-old woman’s head at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church in January. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors dropped other charges, including attempted murder and sexual assault. <\/p>\n

“Our prosecutors analyzed the case, they spoke with the victim, and she thought it was best to resolve this case short of trial,” District Attorney David Roger said. <\/p>\n

Neither the woman nor her lawyer could be reached for comment. <\/p>\n

Chaanine, 53, remained in jail on $1 million bail pending sentencing Nov. 1. The battery charge carries a maximum prison term of six to 15 years, but Chaanine could be eligible for probation, officials said. <\/p>\n

He remains suspended by the Diocese of Las Vegas. The district attorney said that as a convicted felon, Chaanine would “probably never be a priest again.” <\/p>\n

Deputy Public Defender Scott Coffee said Chaanine took responsibility for the attack, but “vehemently denies there was any sexual assault.” <\/p>\n

The woman sang at the church and was hired by Chaanine in October as the parish events coordinator. She accused Chaanine of hitting her in the head with a wine bottle on Jan. 26, stomping on her hand, groping her and choking her until she began praying. She said he suddenly stopped and fled. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Both sides characterized Chaanine’s relationship with his accuser as more than priest and parishioner, but they did not say the two were romantically involved. <\/p>\n

Bishop Joseph Pepe, the head of the Las Vegas Diocese, issued the a statement Thursday characterizing the church community as saddened and saying he prayed for “unity and strength” in the congregation. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bizarre story of priestly criminality crossed the wires this afternoon from, of all places, Las Vegas: A Roman Catholic priest who smashed a wine bottle over the head of a woman in church pleaded guilty to felony battery with a deadly weapon. The Rev. George Chaanine admitted Thursday in Clark County District Court that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat happens in Vegas... - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/what-happens-in-vegas.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What happens in Vegas... - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bizarre story of priestly criminality crossed the wires this afternoon from, of all places, Las Vegas: A Roman Catholic priest who smashed a wine bottle over the head of a woman in church pleaded guilty to felony battery with a deadly weapon. 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