EAST CAMBRIDGE (MA)
CNN
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 Posted: 11:37 AM EST (1637 GMT)
EAST CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Court TV) -- Prosecutors rested their child rape case against defrocked priest Paul Shanley by calling his accuser's Sunday-school classmates, who offered the only testimony to corroborate the accuser's claims of abuse 15 years ago.
Four of his peers from catechism class at St. John's Parish in Newton, where Shanley was assigned in the 1980s, testified that the accuser was part of a "rowdy" group of boys often sent from class to visit Shanley for disciplinary action.
"The best word I can use is very chaotic. It was hard to pay attention," Kerry Lessard testified of the classroom environment.
"The three boys seemed to get in a lot of trouble," Christine Michelon said.
Posted by kshaw at February 2, 2005 12:46 AM