Convicted St. Landry Parish priest Michael Guidry has asked a judge to reconsider the 10-year sentence he received for molesting the son of his deacon.
Back in April, Guidry was sentenced to 10 years in prison for child molestation, with three years suspended – meaning he will serve as much as seven years in prison.
His attorneys filed a motion for reconsideration of sentence in May. A hearing has been set for July 18, court records indicate.
The motion argues that his sentence “is excessive and disproportionate and a needless imposition of pain and suffering” and therefore a violation of the state Constitution.
Guidry, 76, who most recently served at Saint Peter’s Church in Morrow,pleaded guilty in March to molesting a deacon’s son after giving him alcohol.
Guidry faced 5 to 10 years in prison. As part of his plea deal, Guidry was placed on the sex offender registry.
The former pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Morrow was arrested in June 2018 after a deacon’s son, Oliver Peyton, came forward to allege the priest had given him alcohol and molested him. In December 2018, Guidry was formally charged with molestation of a juvenile by the St. Landry Parish District Attorney.
Before handing down Guidry’s sentence, Judge Alonzo Harris heard witness testimony from the victim’s parents and brother who gave emotional statements calling for the maximum sentence for a man that they described as a “wolf in shepherd’s clothing.”
