French paedophile priest seeks forgiveness as trial ends Former priest Bernard Preynat was able to "say what he wanted to say to his victims", his lawyer told reporters at the end of his trial for historic sexual abuse. In France the Preynat case has come to symbolise the Church's omerta on paedophilia. The prosecutor has requested an eight-year prison sentence, and Preynat will be sentenced on March 16. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES