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	Local Pastor Sex Abuse Case Will Go to Trial By Kevin Behr Winona Daily News January 9, 2009 http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2009/01/09/news/08pastor.txt The jury trial for the Rev. Donald Dean Budd will be held as scheduled, Judge Jeff Thompson announced Thursday in court. Budd is accused of fondling a congregant several times in their respective homes and at church over several counseling sessions between summer 2003 and fall 2005. Police used a wire tap to obtain some information that led to the charges. The trial is set to begin with jury selection at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 9, with the first witnesses to be called in the morning Feb. 10. Thompson asked the attorneys on both sides of the case if there was "anything special" he needed to know ahead of trial. Winona County Attorney Chuck MacLean said the lead investigator on the case will be on family leave throughout January. Budd's attorney, Rich McCluer, questioned whether that would delay the trial, but an answer was not explicitly given. MacLean also commented on a witness list submitted by McCluer. He said about half of the 32 names listed were unrecognizable and didn't appear in any reports. McCluer said they were members of Budd's former parish and would be called only to testify as necessary. He said a sentence or two in the court file mentioned each of them, but the list would be narrowed by the trial date. Ten charges of criminal sexual conduct have been pending against Budd since they were filed in January 2007. The case was delayed for about a year, pending the outcome of a similar case before the Minnesota Supreme Court. A pastor in that case argued the statute barring sexual contact between clergymen and congregation members unconstitutionally tied religion into law. The Supreme Court issued a split decision, paving the way for Budd's case to continue. Contact: kbehr@winonadailynews.com
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