Ex-deacon guilty of sexual assault
The Maui man worked at St. Ann when the boy was abused
WAILUKU » A Maui man who served as a Catholic deacon is scheduled to be sentenced July 20 on 62 counts related to sexual assault on a boy.
James Ronald Gonsalves, 69, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Maui Circuit Court to 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assault and 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault.
He was the deacon at St. Ann Church in Waihee at the time of the assaults.
A plea agreement would allow Gonsalves to ask for a sentence of 20 years' probation, including one year in jail and three years of home imprisonment.
Gonsalves, hired about seven years ago to be a full-time paid administrator for St. Ann, was praised for bringing the parish out of debt and more than doubling its membership.
The boy was 12 years old when the alleged assault began that the prosecution has charged took place between June 2003 and June 2005.
