Elderly former Episcopal priest sentenced

WBGH

A former rector at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Owego was sentenced Thursday.

82 year-old Ralph Johnson pled guilty to two counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse in Susquehanna County Court in Pennsylvania. He will spend between 4 and a half to 18 years in prison. According to police, in one case he repeatedly forced a boy to have sex with him between 1992 and 1995 at his home. At that time the boy was between the ages of 11 and 15.

NewsChannel 34 also talked with Reverend David Bollinger Thursday afternoon. He was the man who found out about what Johnson had done and worked to bring it to light. Bollinger says it’s important that Johnson has been brought to justice and he praises the victims for their courage in coming forward. He says they did what they needed to do.