Former choir director gets 30 years for boys' abuse

Houston, Texas --

A young man who was molested by a Catholic Church choir director told his abuser to "rot in hell" Tuesday after the accused pedophile pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting him and his two young brothers during the past 10 years.

Stuart Murphy, 57, faced his victim in court somberly and tearfully after a judge handed down a 30-year prison sentence for repeatedly molesting the boys whom he met at Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Houston.

"This is a day that he knew was coming," Murphy's defense attorney, Brett Podolsky, said after the sentencing. "He knew what he was doing was wrong and he felt like he needed to take responsibility for his actions."

Murphy's arrest in March came as a shock to those who knew him as a longtime Catholic school teacher and church volunteer who began working in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston more than 25 years ago.

Archdiocese officials said Murphy was terminated from his job at Annunciation after he was charged. He left his part-time teachers assistant job at the Cardinal Newman School days before his March 30 arrest.

Read the article at HoustonChronicle.com Dated August 3, 2005

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