Confession barred in ex-priest’s trial
Green Bay, Wisconsin --
A letter in which a former Catholic priest confessed to molesting more than 14 boys between 1969 and 1988 cannot be shown to jurors hearing allegations that the man molested a 10-year-old boy in 1988.
Donald Buzanow-ski, 62, is expected to stand trial later this month on two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly fondling a boy while Buzanowski was a counselor at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay during the late 1980s.
Brown County Circuit Court Judge J.D. McKay on Friday upheld his decision to bar Buzanowski’s letter to a Protestant pastor, citing the vagueness of the letter. Prosecutors had asked the letter be admitted as evidence of other bad acts.
McKay in April ruled that the letter to the pastor could not be included as evidence because it could be considered confidential communication between clergy and penitent.
Prosecutors asked McKay to reconsider and argued that Buzanowski and the pastor had a social relationship and it was not a privileged communication.
McKay disagreed and let his original ruling stand, but added that the letter might come into evidence if witnesses testified about the document and its context.
Special prosecutor Vince Biskupic said he was disappointed in the ruling, but noted it did not significantly damage the state’s case.
Read the article at Green Bay Press-Gazette Dated July 16, 2005
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A letter in which a former Catholic priest confessed to molesting more than 14 boys between 1969 and 1988 cannot be shown to jurors hearing allegations that the man molested a 10-year-old boy in 1988.
Donald Buzanow-ski, 62, is expected to stand trial later this month on two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly fondling a boy while Buzanowski was a counselor at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Green Bay during the late 1980s.
Brown County Circuit Court Judge J.D. McKay on Friday upheld his decision to bar Buzanowski’s letter to a Protestant pastor, citing the vagueness of the letter. Prosecutors had asked the letter be admitted as evidence of other bad acts.
McKay in April ruled that the letter to the pastor could not be included as evidence because it could be considered confidential communication between clergy and penitent.
Prosecutors asked McKay to reconsider and argued that Buzanowski and the pastor had a social relationship and it was not a privileged communication.
McKay disagreed and let his original ruling stand, but added that the letter might come into evidence if witnesses testified about the document and its context.
Special prosecutor Vince Biskupic said he was disappointed in the ruling, but noted it did not significantly damage the state’s case.
Read the article at Green Bay Press-Gazette Dated July 16, 2005
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