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| Catholic Worker founder gets 10 days in jail By David F. Smydra Jr. [ david@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Friday, February 29, 2008 1:42 PM PST Michael Niece will serve 10 days in San Mateo County jail for offering a 35-year-old Half Moon Bay woman $500 to have sex with him. The woman had approached Niece, 65, at the Magdalene House in Half Moon Bay, a Catholic Worker charity house that Niece and his wife Kathy managed. Niece received the sentence in San Mateo County Superior Court on Friday morning. The sentence is far less than the 90 days that prosecutor Morris Maya had asked the court to impose. "I found this to be an aggravated scenario where the defendant approached a woman who had never contemplated prostitution," Maya said. "The context in which the contact occurred was probably the most offensive thing." A probation officer in the case recommended the 10-day sentence to Judge Carl Holm, based on what she believed was Niece's attempt to seek counseling since the incident. Maya argued against the officer's conclusion. "In this particular instance, with this particular probation officer, I think she really dropped the ball," Maya said. The incident in question occurred on Aug. 13. Niece pleaded no contest to the single count of misdemeanor solicitation on Dec. 7. |