A Pastor Was Sentenced Over Child Molestation. A former pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church was sentenced to 29 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to repeatedly molesting an 11-year-old boy and attempting to molest his younger brother. Michael Skoor, 55, of Encinitas was sentenced Tuesday and was spared a life prison term after […]
A Pastor Was Sentenced Over Child Molestation. A former pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church was sentenced to 29 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to repeatedly molesting an 11-year-old boy and attempting to molest his younger brother.
Michael Skoor, 55, of Encinitas was sentenced Tuesday and was spared a life prison term after agreeing to plead guilty. Skoor pleaded guilty in August to child molestation charges.
The victim and his younger brother told authorities that Skoor touched them both inappropriately. Prosecutors said Skoor molested the older boy 20 times from October 2000 to April 2001 in his home, in a church office, in his car, in the boy’s home and during a camping trip.
Prosecutors also accused Skoor of molesting the boy’s younger brother, but Skoor pleaded guilty to attempted molestation under a plea agreement.
Skoor, who was pastor of the Solana Beach parish, initially confided in a psychiatrist about his abuse.
The victim’s mother took her oldest son to Skoor when her marriage was on the rocks. Skoor began counseling the oldest son in private but the sessions stopped last year after the mother believed he was becoming too close with her son
Skoor resigned from the church and was found at an Atlanta treatment program for sexual predators. He told authorities that he strayed from his 27-year marriage, hiring prostitutes during an overseas trip and having affairs with women.
Church officials agreed to pay $1.3 million to the boys, who are now 13 and 10, to settle a lawsuit.
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