A Lutheran pastor accused of planting a recording device in the home of his now ex-wife was sentenced on Tuesday to serve a year of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of possessing an instrument of crime.
Thomas M. Glasoe, 49, pleaded guilty to the charge, which was amended from a third-degree felony count of intercept communications, before Erie County Judge John J. Mead on Tuesday morning. Prosecutors noted before sentencing that the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but they did not object to a probationary sentence.
More: Police accuse Lutheran pastor of planting recording device in woman’s Summit Township home
Glasoe, in his comments to the court, called the incident the darkest moment of his adulthood, and said he was not thinking straight. He added that he is working through mental health issues.
The Pennsylvania State Police accused Glasoe of planting the recording device in the bedroom of his former wife’s Summit Township home in September 2023. A trooper who went to the home and was given consent to search it found the device hidden above a panel in the bedroom, and later confirmed the device contained recordings of the woman speaking, investigators wrote in Glasoe’s criminal complaint.
More: Lutheran pastor accused of planting recording device in Summit home waives felony charge
At the time Glasoe was charged in October 2023, he was pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Wesleyville and was placed on administrative leave with pay, according to a letter from the bishop that was addressed to the church’s congregation and read during a church service shortly after the charges were filed.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pastor gets probation for putting recording device in ex-wife’s home
