CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
Monday, January 23, 2006
(01-23) 12:40 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
A prosecutor described in graphic detail Monday the molestation of numerous boys by retired Roman Catholic priest Michael Wempe but told jurors they would be asked to convict him of crimes against only one alleged victim who is now grown.
Deputy District Attorney Todd Hicks said in his opening statement that most of the men who will testify repressed their memories of the abuse for many years, as did the man whose claims led to the current criminal trial.
Wempe's lawyer, however, told the jury that the claims of the most recent alleged victim were false and were fabricated to avenge the molestation of his two brothers many years earlier.