Former East Windsor Priest Pleads Guilty To Giving Explosives To Teen

EAST WINDSOR, CT – A former East Windsor Catholic priest, who was previously accused of sexually assaulting a minor, has pleaded guilty to distributing explosive material to a teenager.

Paul Gotta, 58, faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of knowingly and willingly distributing an explosive material to an individual who was under 21 years of age, U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2012, Gotta aided a 17-year-old in the purchase of thousands of rounds of handgun ammunition, Daly said.

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In addition, on two occasions in December 2012, Gotta purchased two pounds of explosives powder at Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor and distributed it to the same juvenile, according to Daly.

At time of the offense, Gotta was a Catholic priest residing at the rectory of St. Philip Church in East Windsor.

On Jan. 30, 2014, a grand jury in Hartford returned a six-count indictment charging Gotta with aiding and abetting the unlawful transport of a firearm in interstate commerce, aiding and abetting the possession of a handgun by a juvenile, aiding and abetting the possession of ammunition by a juvenile, distribution of explosive material to an individual under the age of 21, aiding and abetting the attempted manufacture of a pipe bomb, and obstruction of justice.

Gotta pleaded guilty to Count Four of the indictment, according to Daly.

He is scheduled to be to be sentenced on May 19 and faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

Gotta was arrested on July 19, 2013, and is released on bond.

Gotta was suspended as a priest in 2013 after being accused of sexual assault. The charges were dropped under a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to second-degree breach of peace.