(Newser)
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What's more damaging to the Catholic Church's image than a priest accused of sexual assault? How about a priest accused of sexual assault who allegedly tries to hire a hit man to kill his teen accuser? Investigators say 52-year-old Texas priest John Fiala offered a neighbor $5,000 to kill a boy who had accused him of rape, AP reports.
Fiala, who is accused of raping the teen in a motel room at gunpoint, was arrested after the neighbor blew the whistle on him and helped arrange a sting, say detectives. The boy's attorney says his client had been threatened by the priest in the past. Fiala told the teen "if you tell anyone, I'll hurt you, your family, your girlfriend," according to the lawyer. "It was more than once he threatened him with a gun."
