Ex-South Texas priest sentenced to 60 years for 2011 rape

BEEVILLE, Texas – A former Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted in Texas of raping a teenager in 2011.

Jurors on Thursday convicted 61-year-old Stephen Tarleton Dougherty of aggravated sexual assault. He was then sentenced. Another jury in 2017 deadlocked on the charge.

Prosecutors say the victim was 13 when Dougherty raped her at a ranch near Beeville where she lived with relatives. Investigators say the attack happened in December 2011.

Dougherty was indicted in 2016, after the victim reported the attack while undergoing counselling.

Dougherty was ordained in 2003. The Diocese of Corpus Christi says he has been on leave and out of the ministry since late 2011, after officials received a different complaint alleging sexual misconduct in the 1980s.