Former East Texas Priest Sentenced to Prison

CINCINNATI OHIO — A former priest in the Catholic Diocese in Tyler has been sentenced to prison for sexual abuse. Rev. Robert F. Poandl, 73, who is dying of cancer, was sentenced yesterday to 7 1/2 years in prison for taking a Cincinnati boy to West Virginia and sexually assaulting him. The incident occurred in 1991. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett said he took Poandl’s health into consideration when deciding the sentence. The judge recommended that Poandl serve his time in a medical facility. A federal jury in Cincinnati convicted Poandl in the case last September.