Pennsylvania man says he molested girls because of wife's bingo habit, judge not impressed

EASTON, Pa. (AP) A man who pleaded guilty to molesting two girls told a judge he did it because of his wife's excessive bingo playing. <br/><br/>``My wife was never home,'' Floyd Kinney Jr.

Sunday, December 3rd 2006, 8:26 pm

By: News On 6

EASTON, Pa. (AP) A man who pleaded guilty to molesting two girls told a judge he did it because of his wife's excessive bingo playing.

``My wife was never home,'' Floyd Kinney Jr. said during his plea hearing Friday.

Kinney's explanation did not sit well with Northampton County Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden,

``Some people, when their wives are not home, decide to do other things, like clean their living rooms,'' McFadden said. ``Your behavior is beyond the pale.''

Kinney, 49, said his wife would sometimes argue with him over money and that he was angry she was spending too much on bingo.

``She would be going to bingo three, four times a week. I told her to stop going to bingo, and she said, 'If they had bingo every day, I'd go every day,''' he said.

Records say Kinney molested one of the girls, now 26, from 1992-97. He sexually assaulted the second girl, now 17, for a year beginning in January 2005, records show.

Kinney pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent assault. The felony charges carry a combined maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Defense attorney Richard Yetter said his client was not articulate and may not have been doing a good job of conveying his rationale to the judge.

But McFadden said she found Kinney capable of explaining himself. ``I think he is telling me exactly what was going on,'' the judge said. ``His wife was not home so he was going to perpetrate on someone and he picked these two children.''