July 12, 2000 09:48am
Priest Nabbed in Prostitution Sting
Source: AP
(MIAMI, FL) -- A Roman Catholic priest who was president of St. Thomas University for 10 years was arrested in a prostitution sting.
The Rev. Patrick H. O'Neill, 60, was charged with soliciting a prostitute last week after a conversation with a male police officer from his car.
O'Neill's lawyer, William Dean, predicted his client would be cleared.
According to police reports, Officer Albert Guerra was working undercover July 5 when O'Neill allegedly drove up and lowered his car window.
Guerra, 27, said O'Neill offered him $100 for sex acts.
O'Neill did not return two calls to his home. Miami Archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said he was out of town on a previously scheduled trip.
``Father O'Neill has cooperated with authorities, and we are optimistic there will be a quick and just resolution to this incident,'' Ross Agosta said.
O'Neill was president of St. Thomas University from 1979 to 1988. He also has served as president of the South Florida Center for Theological Studies and president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
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