Football
Associated Press 19y

Priest pleads guilty in Pitt player's death

PITTSBURGH -- A Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to seven years' probation Tuesday for giving alcohol to a
University of Pittsburgh football player who died after falling
through a church ceiling while drunk.

The Rev. Henry Krawczyk was the only adult of legal drinking age
at a cookout he hosted in the hours before the death of 19-year-old
receiver Billy Gaines. A witness said Gaines had eight glasses of
rum and Coke plus a shot of liquor at the party, held on church
grounds.

Krawczyk, 52, entered his guilty plea to involuntary
manslaughter, reckless endangerment and furnishing alcohol to
minors on the day his trial was to begin.

Gaines and another team member had been exploring an attic crawl
space at the church when he fell onto his head from a height of
more than 20 feet.

Reading from a statement in court, Krawczyk called the death a
tragedy but said he was comforted because he believed Gaines was
now with Jesus Christ, and that he counted Gaines as his friend.

Gaines' mother, Kimberly Gaines, cried after hearing the
statement.

"I don't want to be judgmental, but I don't want him to be
pledging to be our friend," she said. "He's not our friend. He's
responsible for my son's death -- but he never said he was sorry, he
never said he was responsible for it."

The family is suing Krawczyk, the diocese and other Roman
Catholic entities, contending the priest was not properly
disciplined for past accusations involving alcohol and minors.

Krawczyk's defense attorney, Robert Stewart, said he advised the
priest not to say anything in court, in part because of the
lawsuit.

The judge imposed the sentence under a plea bargain approved by
Gaines' parents, who didn't want the priest to go to jail.

The sentence was the maximum amount of probation the priest
could have faced. While on probation, Krawczyk will not be allowed
to have private contact with anyone under 21 years of age.

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