Piepenbrink Pleads Guilty To Seven Felonies, Sentencing Set For July - Inver Grove Heights, MN Patch:
Fifty-two-year-old former Shepherd of the Hills Church pastor Leon Piepenbrink pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft by swindle in a Dakota County court Friday morning.
A jury trial for Piepenbrink was initially scheduled to begin May 7 but Friday's plea changes the circumstances of the case. Now, sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on July 17.
Piepenbrink's plea came just eight days after Judge Edward Lynch ruled that a conversation in which he allegedly told Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) colleagues he falsified documents and took $62,500 was indeed an admission of guilt.
Police say the former pastor used church funds for personal items including bulletproof glass, a gun and a home security system to protect himself from a violent Hmong gang.
Piepenbrink's attorney, Kenneth Ubong Udoibok, has long held that the alleged conversation took place in a confessional format and was thus, inadmissible in court.
Udoibok told Patch in an Apr. 19 statement: "We take the position that Minn. Statute 595.02 applies and also all the privileges therein ... but [Wednesday] the court ruled that the confession does not apply. It is troubling, to say the least."
According to a Pioneer Press article, authorities are now alleging Piepenbrink's misappropriation hovered closer to $300,000.
Each of the offenses against Piepenbrink carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
While Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom initially sought 23 months in prison for Piepenbrink, it is unclear if he will ask the judge for a harsher penalty prior to sentencing.
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