A Catholic priest who had revealed in court that he has been secretly married for more than a decade, was found guilty of sexual assault on Friday.

William Finnegan, 59, known to his congregation as Father Bill, appeared in court Friday to hear the verdict in sexual assault trial after he revealed some shocking news: the priest has been secretly married for over a decade.

The priest denied the charges against him that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl on Easter Sunday last year.

He was accused of forcefully kissing a 17-year-old girl and caressing her butt and the jury found him guilty in their verdict today in the Bradford Crown Court.

Judge Roger Thomas QC warned the priest he may go to jail for the crime.

In a shocking turn of events during the trial the priest reveled that he had broken his vows of celibacy by marrying one of his parishioners in a civil ceremony abroad. After the secret marriage, Finnegan continued to do his job.

Finnegan was parish priest at St Clare's Roman Catholic Church in Fagley, Bradford, when the assault happened on Easter Sunday last year.

In testimony during trial, the jury was also informed that Finnegan was enjoying an active sex life with his wife.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, who represented the defendant, addressed the jury saying, "You may be thinking that he is only human, that Father Bill, as a Catholic priest, has taken a vow of celibacy, condemning himself to a single and lonely life filled with perhaps an underlying sexual frustration because, let's face it, it is not a natural state for a human to be in."

Hill-Baker continued, "It would be understandable for you to be thinking, "Well, perhaps it just got the best of him with that 17-year-old.'"  He then told the jury that the priest had been secretly married for over 10 years.

The surprising news, it has been suggested, caused the jury to lose confidence in the priest's credibility.

The jury was out for almost the whole day deliberating before returning the guilty verdict.

Finnegan's supporters in the courtroom were noticeably upset when the decision was read, gasping and crying. The young victim, who was also in the room, breathed a sigh of relief.

The court reporter addressed the priest saying, "There's a lot of thought to be given" regarding the sentence he will ultimately receive, but it could possibly include an immediate prison term.

Judge Thomas said, "This case, albeit sexual assault of the least type, does have to it factors of another type. What the ultimate sentence will be, I have an entirely open mind about but that ranges from immediate imprisonment to other arrangements of a community nature."