VISITING PRIEST BEATS PERV RAP  

The lawyer for the Rev. Peter Kiare, a 41 year old Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a then 12 year old boy on Father's Day 2002, suggested the child is lying, as a judge ordered the cleric held on $50,000 bond.  The lawyer, Michael Gaffey, questioned why the boy did not shout out if Kiare actually molested him during a June 16 outing to Rockaway Beach.  Prosecutor Kenneth Appelbaum said Kiare molested the boy at the beach, in a grocery store, at a restaurant, at a bus stop and on a bus.  The Kenyan missionary priest  vowed to fight the charges after he refused a plea deal that would have landed him three months in jail.  He wanted to prove his innocence at trial.  If he was convicted of sex abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child, he could have spent a year behind bars.  The Ireland-based Holy Ghost Fathers order -- which sponsors missions around the globe --  put up the $50,000 cash to bail Kiare out of jail.

On April 22, the 13 year old boy told the Queens jury how Kiare groped him repeatedly during the beach trip.  He put his hand down my pants and into my underwear, the boy said as Kiare shook his head at the defense table.  I felt violated and uncomfortable and wanted to go home.  

Kiare was acquitted by the jury yesterday of the charges that he repeatedly groped the boy during the field trip.  He was acquitted after a two day trial.  

(New York)