Former pastor receives 3 years for sexual abuse charge

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Former pastor receives 3 years for sexual abuse charge

By MEGAN KOSKOVICH

UTICA - William Procanick - the former pastor at the First Assembly of God in Clinton - received a three year prison sentence for sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl.

The three year prison sentence is for sexual abuse in the first degree. Procanick also received a one year sentence in Oneida County Jail for a lesser charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

This is actually a lesser sentence than what Procanick could have received. The maximum being seven years in state prison.

Members of Procanick's church filled most of the courtroom today as the former pastor received his sentence.

The girl is said to have spent the night at Procanick's home on several occasions. The district attorney's office says Procanick inappropriately touched the girl on her legs and buttocks during those stays - something Procanick continues to deny.

The mother of the sexually abused child spoke before the courtroom today. We've been asked by the district attorney's office not to give her name or show her face.

However, we can tell you what she said before the courtroom. She spoke about the pain she and her family are going through, calling Procanick a liar, along with the congregation of the First Assembly of God.

The prosecution and defense both had very different takes on her speech.

"I wasn't going to let that stand," said George Aney, Defense Attorney for Procanick. "And unassailed by somebody...criticizing a very, very functional and a good congregation, and I thought she was wrong."

"This has been difficult for the mother of the child and the child," said Doug DeMarche of the district attorney's office. "She was a member of this church and she had a lot of faith and trust in Mr. Procanick and he violated that trust."

Aney says he does plan to appeal this case.

Thursday, May 15 at 9:08 AM pastorproblems wrote ...

Glad to see that Hillary's pastor is in the news too. Maybe people will realize that these "associations" are meaningless when attempting to evaluate a presidential candidates views. Its a shame that this isn't being reported in the maintstream news media. No matter, Hillary won't win. After the Edwards endorsement, she probably won't even be V.P.

Monday, Apr 14 at 3:33 PM edna hudson wrote ...

My e-mail states pastor Procanick is the former minister of Hillary Clinton. Is this true?

Wednesday, Mar 5 at 10:37 AM Deb wrote ...

So the verdict was guilty - plenty of guilty verdicts come down on innocent people, as DNA technology continues to prove over and over again. I believe this Pastor is innocent of what he is suffering a guilty verdict from. This jury should never have come to such a conclusion based upon speculating about what he was thinking. How is that even allowed in a court of law? Something needs to change in our laws.

Monday, Mar 3 at 11:21 AM some where in N.Y. wrote ...

Why did the pastor allow this little girl to sleep on his bedroom floor? And where was Mrs. Procanick? Why didn't she comfort the little girl? A pastor leaves himself wide open when he invites a little girl to sleep on his floor and then expects all of us to believe him. Was their anybody else in the room with him when he comforted this little girl? I am praying for this pastor and his family.

Monday, Mar 3 at 9:21 AM beenthere wrote ...

Agree with overcomer. Having been a victim of false accusation, it is guilty until proven innocent in these cases. While we must err on the side of caution to protect the children, we must respect the rights of the accused as well. This issue is very often abused to gain revenge and retribution against others. It's always the children that lose, even when there is a loving and innocent intent mispresented by the child or adults. Trust half of what you see and none of what you hear.

Sunday, Mar 2 at 8:53 PM overcomer wrote ...

Knowing this family personally would lead me to believe this is a case where they became involved with these children and their mother to help them in their desperate situation. Their mistake was to treat these children as their own, something that can put one in a position of misinterpretation. Keep in mind that there are always two sides to every story and in this case, only one side appears to have been allowed to be told.

Sunday, Mar 2 at 7:55 PM Anonymous wrote ...

The church is not First Assembly of God but Resurrection Assembly of God in Clinton.

Saturday, Mar 1 at 11:04 AM Good 2 C wrote ...

Shame on this man. God bless the young girl. I hope he reads this and thinks about it for the next 2, 3, or 4 years, however many he actually does.

Saturday, Mar 1 at 9:16 AM Karen wrote ...

I am outraged at the blatant biases and prejudices exhibited by the Oneida County judicial system as clearly displayed in the processing of this case. From the very beginning until the ugly untruths spoke by the judge at sentencing, a clear bias against the clergy rang through every decision by everyone involved. Never was any "intent" proven, or even close to solid, yet because this man was a pastor, he was condemned. The entire community suffers a great loss because of this gross injustice.

Saturday, Mar 1 at 7:29 AM RON wrote ...

An aquusation was made, an investigation was performed, a trial was given and the verdict was GUILTY! He got what he deserved..lets hope he learned his lesson. Our children need to be protected and it seems too many times the sytem fails them. A young life has been changed forever,those memories will never go away. I am around kids all the time, they trust until given a reason not to. The parents trusted the pastor, why wouldnt they, right? I feel for this family,please learn to trust again.

Friday, Feb 29 at 3:55 PM Deb wrote ...

What happened to "beyond a reasonable doubt?" I don't know the Pastor, nor the girl, but I don't feel a jury can decide someone's intent without incurring their own biases and experiences. Where's the proof? In someone's past and how they interpret things? Scary, and I feel for this Pastor, his family, and his congregation.

Friday, Feb 29 at 2:23 PM Al wrote ...

There is more to this story than what was said in Court. I have followed this case closely from the start.. and there is something fishy going on. First of all, why did the mother of this child let her spend the night there.... and why is the former pastor getting involved in baby-sitting... this is more of a mystery, and I don't believe that all the right questions have been asked both parties...

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