German court convicts Catholic priest of abusing girls

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted a Catholic priest of sexual abuse of children in cases that spanned many years and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. The Cologne state court also ordered the 70-year-old on Friday to pay three co-plaintiffs in the case damages totaling 50,000 euros ($56,000).  The priest was identified by local media only as Hans U. The indictment says the case against the priest covered 118 counts and the youngest victim was a 9-year-old girl. The court heard that the suspect’s victims included a girl who complained of homesickness and a girl to whom he was supposedly giving anger therapy.