WINONA, Minn. – A Winona pastor for two decades, Rick Iglesias, was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexual relations with a teen-age boy over 1-1/2 years. Iglesias had pleaded guilty in April. The sentence was passed down by Judge Mary Leahy. Iglesias, now 66, ran a gregarious outreach ministry at Pleasant Valley Church. The sex with the teen-ager spanned 2010 to 2012, beginning when the boy was 14. The boy, now on his mid-20s, was never identified in court. The relations came to light in 2019. Iglesias promptly resigned from the Winona church and moved to Pennsylvania, then Texas.
Iglesias. When his ministry was in its stride.
The sentencing range
The maximum penalty for Iglesias could have been 25 years. With good behavior, he could be released sooner. The usual range is 7-1/2 to 20. In earlier proceedings Iglesias’ attorney suggested probation as more fitting, which Judge Leahy didn’t rule out at the time. These were the arguments presented at the sentencing hearing.
Arguments for lesser sentence
Paul Reitman, a forensic psychologist who conduted a psychosexual evaluation of Iglesias. described him as deeply remorseful. He noted that Iglesias had no history of relevant offenses or fantasies. He called Iglesias d highly amenable to treatment, He pointed to favorable progress reports from a sex offender treatment program in which Iglesias had enrolled. Reitman said that Iglesias might could be safely treated by continuing treatment. .
Kurt Knuesel, representing Iglesias, called him someone who did much that was good in his life even though he made a terrible choice with the sexual relationship with the teenager. Iglesias now is doing all he can to make up for the lapse. he said. At most, Knuesel said, the sentence should be one-year sentence sevred in 30-day stints over 12 years.
Arguments for longer sentence
Christina Galewski, the prosecutor, said a sentence needed to convey the magnitude of the harm. Iglesias had committed the deepest breach of trust, she said. Also, Galewski cast doubt on the sincerity of Iglesias’ statement of remose. “The sexual assault did not just happen one time,”she said. “The defendant did not feel so remorseful the first time it happened. He did it over and over again.” She called ghe apology to the victim “unwittingly primarily focused on himself.”
Judge’s judgment
Leahy said Iglesias’ position as a well-respected pastor “provided a mask” that partly enabled his abuse to go unnoticed and his crime hurt the community as well as the victim. She stressed the gravity of his offense. “It didn’t happen just once or twice, but many times over a period of time,” she said. Leahy continued, “You held a position of trust, and you violated that trust.”
As she announced her decision, Judge Leahy ended with a message for the victim. She observed that a huge piece of his childhood was stolen, but then quoted Winnie-the Pooh author A.A. Milnes: “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”