A Louisa County grand jury yesterday reinstated 13 theft counts against a former Catholic priest convicted in federal court of defrauding two local churches of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Rodney L. Rodis, 51, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison for diverting for personal use money donated to the Louisa County parishes he headed. The panel also indicted a suspended Howard University soccer coach accused of using the Internet to solicit sex from a minor, said Thomas A. Garrett, Louisa's commonwealth's attorney.

Louisa County authorities initially charged Rodis with 13 felony embezzlement counts last year after church officials realized he had stolen donation money. Then-prosecutor R. Don Short dropped the state counts to allow the federal case to proceed.

Garrett, subsequently elected the county's commonwealth's attorney, said the federal courts did a good job addressing the fraud and money laundering charges, but thought the theft should also be addressed.

Contact Calvin R. Trice at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@timesdispatch.com.