Priest in Kansas sentenced to 32 months in sex abuse case.

Byline: Diane Carroll

LAWRENCE, Kan. _ There was no cry or gasp in the small courtroom Friday when a judge sentenced the Rev. Dennis Schmitz for inappropriately touching a 15-year-old boy.

But after all the talk of probation, people seemed stunned at the decision: 32 months in prison.

Schmitz, who remained composed, conferred with his attorney and his Catholic priest adviser while sheriff's deputies approached. Then Schmitz walked out in front of the deputies, on his way to the Douglas County Jail.

"I think (Schmitz) was surprised and disappointed," defense attorney Stephen Mirakian said several hours later. "But he is holding up all right."

Schmitz, who faces a second charge in Nemaha County, Kan., involving the same boy, now 19, is the only Kansas City area priest who has faced criminal charges since the sexual abuse scandal rocked the Roman Catholic Church earlier this year. Since January, the church has removed at least…