Defense set to begin at Philly priest-abuse trial

Pottstown Mercury
March 5, 2014

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140305/defense-set-to-begin-at-philly-priest-abuse-trial

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The defense is set to begin in the trial of a priest accused of molesting an altar boy after a Mass in 1997.

The Rev. Andrew McCormick has pleaded not guilty to the alleged attack at a Roman Catholic parish in Northeast Philadelphia.

The 26-year-old former altar boy says he thought he was being punished because he was gay. He says he tried to hang himself afterward, when he was 11.

But he has instead gone on to a successful retail career after battling substance abuse.

The 57-year-old McCormick has been suspended from ministry since 2011, following a less serious complaint about another boy.

The defense argues that the trial accuser is the only person to accuse McCormick of sexual abuse in the priest’s 30-year church career.