BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun
By Julie Bykowicz
Sun Staff
Originally published April 9, 2005
Maurice Blackwell, the former West Baltimore Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting a one-time choirboy, was granted a new trial yesterday because of improper testimony in his first trial.
The ruling by the Baltimore Circuit Court judge who oversaw Blackwell's trial marked the latest twist in a case that first grabbed headlines three years ago with a Reservoir Hill shooting at the height of the American Catholic Church's priest abuse scandal.
Blackwell, 59, was convicted in February on three counts of sexual child abuse after a trial marred by what Judge Stuart R. Berger determined yesterday were errors that made justice impossible for the once-popular priest.
Berger granted the defense motion for a new trial based largely on testimony by two Baltimore detectives and the alleged victim, Dontee Stokes, that referred to other people allegedly molested by Blackwell.