CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer
A judge threw out sexual abuse charges against a Cincinnati priest Monday after declaring that neither the accuser nor his story was believable.
A relieved Rev. Raymond Larger hugged family and friends, including several priests, as he left the courtroom. Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman found him not guilty of rape, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition.
The ruling ended the only trial of a Greater Cincinnati priest on abuse charges since the clergy abuse scandal erupted more than three years ago.
"I feel great," Larger said. "There is no truth whatsoever to the allegation."
Ruehlman reached the same conclusion after hearing about two hours of testimony from the accuser, who had claimed Larger abused him repeatedly from 1995 to 1997 while he was a student at St. James School in White Oak.
When prosecutors rested their case, the judge threw up his hands and shook his head.