LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writer
Eight men may testify that Michael Edwin Wempe molested them in the upcoming criminal trial of the former Roman Catholic priest, a judge ruled today.
Wempe is accused of sexually abusing a boy while he was chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was assigned there by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony after Wempe underwent therapy following allegations that he sexually abused other children.
Prosecutors have called Wempe a "master" child molester, and Mahony's supervision of his case has been watched closely.
Wempe admits molesting 13 boys when he was a Roman Catholic priest but denies the crime for which he faces trial.
This morning, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe ruled that eight men who allege that Wempe molested them may testify at the trial.