Brother Botty Sentenced to 7 1/2 Years for Molesting, by Elyria, Oh, Chronicle-Telegram, March 27, 1986

Brother Botty Sentenced to 7 1/2 Years for Molesting

By Elyria, Oh
Chronicle-Telegram
March 27, 1986

CLEVELAND (AP) – A teacher has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for sexually molesting four pupils at St. Joseph High School for boys. Brother Paul Botty, 36, pleaded guilty two weeks ago to three counts of sexual battery and a single count of attempted sexual battery. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Donald Nugent on Wednesday sentenced Botty, who had been accused in an indictment of molesting the boys between May 1983 and the fall of last year. The events came to light when a boy told his parents. Botty, permitted to make a statement before the sentencing, said:

"My hope in my life had always to do with good. I had always been a motivating force and tried to help people the majority of my life. I clearly misused my role. I am very, very sorry for that "I HAVE suffered tremendously personally in the last three months, and I realize I will carry with me the rest of my life the effects this has had on my school, the church, my order, my family and those friends that are dear to me."

Botty belongs to the Society of Mary Community, which provides faculty for the high school. The Cleveland Catholic Diocese dismissed Botty from his teaching job on Jan 27 after the investigation began. In return for Botty's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped 12 felony counts. Prosecutors said the incidents occurred at the brothers' residence on the St Joseph campus. The school has an enrollment of 850. Diocesan officials described Botty as an excellent English teacher and said he was undergoing psychiatric counseling. Botty taught juniors and seniors. AFTER BODDY'S statement, Nugent noted that Botty neglected to mention the trauma of the victims. "You indicated you're sorry it occurred, but I heard nothing about your sorrow for the effects this would have on these four young men and their families," Nugent said. "You have no conception of what happens to these people."

Nugent sentenced Botty to the maximum penalty on the remaining charges, ordering the time be served in Chillicothe Correctional Institute. Defense lawyer Robert J. Babcock said Botty had been undergoing in-patient psychiatric care at a clinic in Maryland and understands that what he did was morally and legally wrong. Babcock said Botty never denied the allegations. Nugent dismissed a report submitted by the defense that claimed that Botty might be suicidal if imprisoned.