A former
Roman Catholic priest who fled the country decades ago was sentenced Friday in
New Mexico to 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of
sexually abusing an altar boy at a
veterans' cemetery and
military base.
In ordering the sentence, U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez said it was the worst case of child sex abuse she has handled over the course of 26 years.
The judge also condemned 81-year-old Arthur Perrault for only being concerned about his sexual needs.
"You chose as a profession the life of being a priest. It was supposed to be your job to help, not destroy," she said.
Prosecutors had asked the judge for special consideration of a life sentence for Perrault, once a pastor at an Albuquerque parish and a chaplain at Kirtland Air Force Base.
He was convicted in April of six counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact with a minor under 12.
"It is a long sentence but certainly a fitting one given the length of his conduct and devastating impact," U.S. Attorney John Anderson said.
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