CAMBRIDGE (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press Writer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— A man accusing defrocked priest Paul Shanley of sexually abusing him as a child returned to court Friday despite pleas from him the day before that he couldn't endure another day of questioning.
On Thursday, with the jury out of the room, the man told the judge he couldn't bear continuing to testify. He'd been through two days of intense and sometimes graphic questioning by Shanley's attorney, Frank Mondano.
"I can't do this again," the accuser said in court. "I can't start over again. Every time I come back I have to start over. It's been three years."
After learning he would face a third day of questioning by Mondano, the man later asked the judge: "Can I ask a request of you? Please don't make me."
But he returned Friday to resume his testimony. Still, Mondano asked the judge to declare a mistrial, contending the man's emotional outbursts during his testimony would taint the jury and prejudice them against his client. Superior Court Stephen Neel rejected the request.