This lady was ahead of her time....
Ex-nun sent to jail for molesting child 35 years ago
By JON FRANK,
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 23, 2004
Last updated: 10:44 PM
 |
Eileen M. Rhoads, 65, was described Wednesday as one who preyed on children.
|
VIRGINIA BEACH — Eileen M. Rhoads, a 65-year-old former nun, was described in court Wednesday as a demon, a sexual deviant who preyed on elementary school children more than 30 years ago.
“Judge, you have before you the face of evil,” testified one victim, now a 45-year-old man, who was molested by Rhoads in 1969 and 1970. “And I ask for the most severe sentence that you could impose.”
Moments later, Circuit Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. sentenced Rhoads to six months is jail for two felony sexual crimes. She pleaded no-contest to the charges in July.
Hanson also gave Rhoads a 10-year suspended prison sentence. Rhoads will not serve any prison time if she remains on good behavior for 10 years after her release from jail.
Rhoads was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately. Her victim and prosecutors called her a danger to the community who might molest again.
Rhoads apologized before being led away.
“I am very, so very, sorry,” Rhoads said, turning to look for her victim . “I apologize with all my heart for any pain I may have caused you. Forgive me and I pray for you that after this is over, I hope you can find some peace of mind.”
Rhoads was a fifth -grade teacher during the 1969-70 school year at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School on Virginia Beach Boulevard. Her victim was a student in her class.
He testified Wednesday that she forced him to participate in sexual activity in a closet, during and after school, for the entire school year. At least two other boys also were involved, he said. Rhoads sometimes molested each one serially on the same day, he testified.
He said the experience haunted him as he matured, making him distrust authority figures, affecting his ability to form lasting relationships, ruining his faith in religion.
The Catholic Church, he testified, “has been infiltrated by a criminal element. The criminal element’s M.O. is pedophilia. That is what they do, and when they come to the church, that is where they hide.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey L. Bryant III wanted a longer prison sentence for Rhoads, saying her crime was not a one-time act. Other victims were prepared to testify, if necessary, he said.
After the hearing, the victim’s attorney, James C. Lewis , thanked the prosecution for bringing Rhoads to justice.
“Eileen Rhoads is a predator and the victim felt that a longer prison sentence would have been appropriate punishment,” he said. “However, he is thankful to the court and to Mr. Bryant for their hard work.”
After leaving Virginia in the early 1970s, Rhoads went to Pennsylvania, where she continued to teach. Other allegations of sexual abuse have arisen there.
One alleged Pennsylvania victim attended Wednesday’s hearing and expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence. “It seems ridiculous,” said the woman, who met Rhoads when she was 11.
She said Rhoads’ sentence hurt her because the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania has expired, leaving no criminal case there. “If there is going to be any justice, this is it,” the woman said.
Rhoads’ attorney, William H. “Happy” O’Brien, argued that Rhoads should not go to jail. State guidelines call for no jail time if the defendants has no prior criminal record.
O’Brien said that Rhoads has lived an “upstanding, civically-minded life” most of her life and has had no other brushes with the law.
The convictions, he said, have humiliated her and smeared her reputation.
“She has been punished enough,” O’Brien said. Civil litigation remains. Rhoads is being sued by the Virginia Beach victim and an alleged Pennsylvania victim. Both lawsuits were filed in Norfolk Circuit Court . One is scheduled for trial in April .
Other defendants in the lawsuits are the Diocese of Richmond and the Pennsylvania religious order to which Rhoads belonged.
Reach Jon Frank at 222-5122 or at [email protected]