Priest, five others plead guilty to making date-rape drug

Associated Press

DAVENPORT, Iowa — A suspended Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute the "date-rape" drug known as GHB.

The Rev. Jeffery Windy, 31, faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines when he is sentenced Aug. 22. He was allowed to remain under house arrest at his parents’ Peru, Ill., home until then.

In a plea agreement, Windy and five others pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute gamma hydroxybutyric acid, also known as GHB.

According to court documents, Windy and Timothy Shawn O’Brien, 34, of Davenport, were seen making the drug at O’Brien’s in May 2001. Undercover narcotics agents allegedly later bought the drug from O’Brien.

Court documents also said a chemical company’s records showed 25 gallons of a solvent used in the making of GHB were sold to St. Patrick’s Church in Sheffield, Ill., where Windy worked.

Windy was suspended from his duties at St. Patrick’s Church and St. Margaret Mary’s in Wyanet, Ill. Both Sheffield and Wyanet are towns of about 1,000 people, about 50 miles east of the Quad Cities.

GHB is known as a date-rape drug for its ability to incapacitate people and leave them vulnerable to sexual assault.

Windy and Crane had no comment after the hearing.

Donovan Robertson, attorney for Timothy John Greenlee, 22, who also pleaded guilty, said there are disputes about the alleged conspiracy.

"My guess is there will probably be a lot of appeals coming out of this just to try to get it straightened out as to what’s going on," he said.