Pimping priest found guilty
A Lesvos court found an Orthodox priest guilty of procurement and sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail late on Saturday for prostituting women, but set him free pending his appeal, court sources said yesterday. The 42-year-old Constantinos Pnakas was arrested early Friday after arranging for a policeman to have sex with one of the two Polish women, aged 20 and 28, whom he was found guilty of procuring. During his trial, the priest claimed he had been trying to «help» the undercover officer meet the woman, not prostitute her to him. His defense lawyer said Pnakas had been an «idiot» but asked that he face a lesser charge. The priest was also fined 5,000 euros. A Greek man from the former Soviet Union, who was deemed to be the priest’s accomplice, was given the same sentence. Both men appealed the decision and were allowed to walk free. Pnakas was also suspended from the Church. The two Polish women were given five-month suspended sentences.