BishopAccountability.org
	Updated: Accused Abusive Priest Also a Liar Philadelphia Weekly March 15, 2011 http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/phillynow/2011/03/15/accused-abusive-priest-also-a-liar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=accused-abusive-priest-also-a-liar In the summer of 1996, so goes a Grand Jury Report, Catholic Priest James Brennan brought a 14-year-old boy to his Chester County apartment and anally raped/tortured him. That boy later attempted suicide. Fifteen years later, when finally facing the music for his alleged crimes, he told a Philadelphia court he had no money, cried, and was then appointed a public defender. Yesterday, the judge who appointed the lawyer, Common Pleas Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, looked at Brennan from across the courtroom, saying, “You lied to me! You jerked me around!” Because it turns out Brennan actually has enough money for his own lawyer. He’s still collecting a monthly stipend from the church and got some cash from his brother. Judge Hughes then ordered him to repay the court for the public defender he won’t need, after all. His lawyer claimed his innocence. UPDATE: Brennan’s lawyer went on 1210 this afternoon and ripped the judge. Via Philly.com: “I’m not looking for a plea deal, not in any way, shape or form,” the Rev. James Brennan told talk-show host Chris Stigall of WPHT (1210 AM). [...] Only after Brennan was charged did friends, family and other supporters step forward to help him financially, DeSipio said. “That doesn’t make him a liar,” the attorney told Stigall. “He certainly didn’t deserve to be screamed at like that in open court. It just wasn’t right.” “The way she spoke to Father Brennan yesterday was wholly improper,” DeSipio said. He said he was “outraged” that the prosecution asked to skip a preliminary hearing, where Brennan would get to confront his accuser. Hughes is expected to rule on the issue March 25.
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