ST. LOUIS (MO)
KSDK
By Erin O'Neill
(KSDK) - Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of a former Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting a teenage boy at the Old Cathedral. Thomas Graham is accused of repeatedly molesting the boy starting in the 1970s.
The jury consists of 10 women and two men. Father Graham was in the courtroom seated next to his attorney. He was wearing a black suit with a blue shirt.
Opening statements wrapped up in the morning. The alleged victim was the first person to take the stand. He is now 43 years old and lives in St. Louis. He says the sexual abuse by Father Graham began when he was a young boy in St. Mary's where Father Graham was an Associate Pastor at the time.
The alleged victim described in detail to the court how Graham allegedly fondled him on several occasions as a young boy while riding in a car and again at the Old Cathedral years later when he was a teenager. He described Father Graham as a close family friend.