ST. LOUIS (AP) — The first Catholic priest in the U.S. to be labeled sexually violent when he was convicted in Illinois was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for abusing two boys in Missouri in the 1990s.

Fred Lenczycki, 75, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of sodomy for crimes that occurred from 1991 to 1994, when he served a parish in north St. Louis County. He was sentenced to 10-year sentences for each count, to run concurrently.

Lenczycki admitted grabbing the genitals of one boy and trying to force the other to expose himself. Though the crimes occurred more than 25 years ago, Lenczycki wasn’t charged until February.

Lenczycki apologized in a brief statement in court. His attorney, Matthew Radefeld, called the sentence “disappointing” because Lenczycki has been undergoing counseling and “made great strides.”

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, in a statement, called Lenczycki a “monster whose actions have affected countless victims and stolen the lives of countless children.”

One of the victims, Charlie Gensler III, now 37, called the sentence “a great step toward our healing and exposing the sexual abuse that occurs within the Catholic Church.” But, he said, the pain will never go away.

“Even though I’m happy with the sentence, it is basically all of us who are condemned to a life sentence of pain, grief and suffering,” Gensler said.

Lenczycki was removed from the ministry in 2002, when he was charged with sexually abusing three boys in the 1980s at a church in Hinsdale, Illinois. Those victims told authorities “Father Fred” repeatedly molested them, often using the pretense of swaddling them in “Baby Jesus” costumes for pageants that never took place.

Lenczycki pleaded guilty in 2004 and was sentenced to five years in prison. In 2008, a year before his release, he became the first U.S. priest to be labeled sexually violent when he was committed under Illinois’ Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act.

Church and court files show that Lenczycki admitted abusing up to 30 boys in Illinois, Missouri and California over 25 years. He now lives in suburban Chicago.

Victims of clergy sexual abuse have demanded more accountability and transparency from the Catholic church since last year, when a Pennsylvania report detailed seven decades of child sexual abuse by predator priests. The Vatican convened a sexual abuse summit in February to hear the testimony of several victims.

In addition to the criminal cases, Lenczycki is named in several lawsuits.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state of Kansas is canceling a grant for an early literacy program for public school children after an audit found the company that administers the course received millions of dollars it wasn’t entitled to during former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families announced Friday it was ending the contract with Hysell & Wagner, which operated the Kansas Reading Roadmap program.

An audit that began under Brownback’s administration but was never finalized or released found that Hysell & Wagner claimed nearly $2.3 million in 2014 and 2015 that it shouldn’t have, the agency said in a news release. In a typical year, the grant is worth about $9 million.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration has found other problems with Hysell & Wagner’s grant, including excessive payments for executive salaries and expenses from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, which are designated for needy families. Those expenses included 38 trips between Kansas and CEO residences in Washington, D.C., and San Diego.

“The Department for Children and Families is committed to ensuring that recipients of federal and state funds are spending those funds efficiently,” agency Secretary Laura Howard said. “After reviewing the results of a DCF audit and despite heightened oversight during the first six months of 2019, it’s clear that Hysell & Wagner is falling short of this basic standard.”

The Reading Roadmap program, which is designed to improve literacy and achievement gaps for young elementary students, will continue. The state plans to directly fund the schools planning to offer the program for this academic year.

The director of the Reading Roadmap program, Andrew Hysell, said the company was confident it had properly operated the program, The Wichita Eagle reported .

“We’ll stand behind our administration of this grant. We’ll go before the Legislature. If we need to, to save our reputation, we’ll go before a court,” Hysell said. “We are very 100 percent behind our work.”

The company’s owners received $216,000 in direct expenses, and more than $607,000 was designated in the grant as guaranteed payments for the owners to cover indirect expenses. The expenses charged to the Reading Roadmap grant exceeded a limit of 15 percent of grant costs.

Howard said her agency tried “in good faith” to work with Hysell & Wagner to correct the issues but the company “continues to struggle with the heightened monitoring requirements and has rejected revisions in their FY 2020 contract addressing indirect costs.”

“I’ve always been concerned about the use of no-bid contracts and lack of accountability under the previous administration,” Kelly said in a statement. “It’s clear that the State of Kansas cannot continue to support Hysell & Wagner’s administration of the Kansas Reading Roadmap program.”

 

SALINE COUNTY —Just after 9 am Friday, a bicyclist was riding on the flood control levee located in the area of Crawford and Centennial in Salina. The bicyclist observed what they believed to be a person lying in the grassy area south and west of this intersection.

The Salina Police Department responded and located a deceased male. The subject has since been identified as Allegro Edwards Jr., a 32-year-old male from Salina. The next of kin have been notified.

At this time, the cause of death is unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.

We are asking the public for any information they may have regarding this individual.

The public is encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210 or Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS(8477) or text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637).

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Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —Crime scene investigators and other Salina Police Department personnel are working on and along the flood control dike near the intersection of Crawford Street and Centennial Road after a body was found there.

Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester said that police personnel were dispatched to the location at 9:19 a.m. Friday. He said no other information would be released at this time because the investigation is in the preliminary stages.

Check the post for additional details as they become available.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Four Midwestern farmers who cheated organic food customers are scheduled to be sentenced for the largest fraud scheme of its kind in U.S. history.

Federal prosecutors say the farmers are responsible for a seven-year scheme that tricked thousands of customers into paying premium prices for products that were marketed as organic but were not.

Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences for the alleged leader of the scheme, Missouri farmer Randy Constant, and three Nebraska farmers who worked with Constant. All four have pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

They admitted that they grew non-organic corn and soybeans, and a small amount of certified organic grains, and falsely marketed them all as organic. Most of the grains were sold as animal feed to companies that marketed organic meat and meat products.

DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 20-year-old Kansas man is awaiting sentencing after pleading no contest in the death of a woman at a Dodge City hotel.

Ford County Attorney Kevin Salzman said Boston Boswell pleaded no contest Monday in the death of 27-year-old Shantel Rose Winkler.

Prosecutors say Boswell went to work at Howell County Feeders on March 3, 2018, and told co-workers he had killed a woman.

Officers found Winkler’s body at a Super 8 motel in Dodge City. She had been shot in the head.

Sentencing has not been scheduled.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A missing Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputy is believed to be in Turkey.

Sheriff Jeff Easter says Homeland Security was able to confirm that Deputy Derick Chandler flew to Istanbul.

Chandler is implicated in an investigation in Wellington of a sex crime involving a 13-year-old.

On Monday, a deputy found Chandler’s gun, badge, identification and armor in the back of his patrol car. He hadn’t been on duty for about a week.

Investigators believe he drove from Wichita to Dallas, flew to Houston and took another flight to Istanbul.

Wellington officials have not issued a warrant for Chandler, so he is not currently considered a fugitive.

Easter said termination proceedings will begin, which can take at least a couple of weeks.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A former Catholic bishop is facing multiple allegations of sexual abuse of boys during his career, including 25 years in Wyoming.

At least three Wyoming men say former Bishop Joseph Hart abused them while he worked in the Diocese of Cheyenne.

A spokesman for the Kansas City diocese says it settled lawsuits in 10 other cases involving Hart over the years.

Four people have leveled abuse claims against Hart in the past year.

Hart has consistently denied allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct, while his attorney has not responded to repeated messages seeking comment.

Hart was among 11 people named in a June report by the Diocese of Cheyenne about sexual abuse between 1957 and 2003.

Hart led the diocese from 1976 until 2001.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY— Thursday’s summer storm brought heavy rain, hail strong winds and a couple of tornadoes.

The tornadoes were reported in rural western Wabaunsee County and near Lake Wabaunsee. A funnel cloud was also north of the interstate, in Riley County and it came into Geary County, stayed aloft and moved on farther to the south toward the Wabaunsee County community of Eskridge, according to Geary County Emergence Management Director Garry Berges.

There are no reports of damage or injury in Wabaunsee County, according to the sheriff’s office. Minor street flooding was reported in Riley County and some areas lost electricity but no damage or injuries, according to the Riley County Police Department. Other than some tree limbs down, there was no damage reported in Pottawatomie County, according to the sheriff’s department.

The storm produced 1.5 inch diameter hail in Leonardville and at one point dime sized hail in Manhattan.

WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a woman who was his son’s mother.

Bradley Aue had been charged with second-degree murder in the May 2018 death of 26-year-old Sierra Craft-McGee in Wellington.

A Sumner County jury on Wednesday found Aue guilty of the lesser charge.

Prosecutors allege Aue hit Craft-McGee several times and pushed her into a window, severing an artery and causing cuts throughout her body. He also didn’t obtain timely medical attention for the victim.

Emergency responders were unable to revive Craft-McGee, who was pronounced dead at the scene.