CAMBRIDGE (MA)
Boston Herald
By Associated Press
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Prosecutors formally dropped an accuser from the criminal case against defrocked priest Paul Shanley, leaving just one alleged victim to testify in the trial that began Tuesday for one of the most notorious figures in the clergy sex abuse scandal.
Prosecutors already had dropped two other alleged victims from the case, and dropped the third because they've been unable to find him since a hearing in October when he had difficulty remaining composed to testify.
The witness' removal from the case leaves Shanley facing three charges of raping a child and two charges of indecent assault and battery on a child.
About 80 prospective jurors were being questioned Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court for the child rape trial that is expected to last about two weeks.