DAVENPORT (IA)
Courier
By The Associated Press
DAVENPORT -- A defrocked Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse almost 50 years ago was not in the courtroom for the first day of testimony in a civil trial filed against him.
The trial involving James Janseen started Tuesday.
A 56-year-old man who claims he was sexually abused as a child is suing Janssen. In his lawsuit, the man claims Janssen abused him in the early 1950s and that church officials kept the abuse secret for more than four decades.
Janssen has denied the claims, but the Vatican stripped him of the priesthood last fall at Bishop William Franklin's request.
Scott County District Court Judge C.H. Pelton has ordered Janssen to be in court and ready to testify.
The plaintiff's attorney, Craig Levine, said if Janssen doesn't show up in court, he'll move for a default judgment.
Posted by kshaw at May 4, 2005 07:40 AM