Priest's 'Disneyland' emerges at sexual assault trial

Priest's 'Disneyland' emerges at sexual assault trial

Defense lawyer says boys first denied sex claims

July 10, 2007

Sue Lindsay

Rocky Mountain News

Former foster parent and Episcopal priest Donald Shissler sexually assaulted three boys whom he lured to his home by turning it into a "Disneyland" full of fun, games and candy, a prosecutor told a Denver jury Monday.

The boys had the run of his home, which had a hot tub, computer games, candy and framed photos of naked young boys, prosecutor Kerri Lombardi said.

"This Disneyland he created came at a high price," she said. "The cost of admission was their innocence and a sense of shame that would last a lifetime."

Shissler, now 74, paraded around nude or wore thong underwear and instructed the boys to take off their clothes, Lombardi said. He measured and rubbed lotion on their penises and eventually engaged in sexual acts with them, she said.

"It's natural. It's not a sin," Lombardi said Shissler told the boys. But while Shissler said what went on in his house was "normal," he told the boys to keep it a secret, Lombardi said.

Shissler is on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting three young boys, but Lombardi said that he engaged in the conduct with others - including his adopted son - who will testify but are not named victims in the charges.

Defense attorney Scott Reisch said that the boys initially denied any improper conduct with Shissler but changed their stories under pressure from investigators. He said that none of the alleged victims was a foster child under Shissler's care.