Alabama Priest, a Former TV Host, Accused of Molesting Underage Son

By Jason Silverstein
New York Daily News
March 26, 2015

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/alabama-priest-tv-host-accused-molesting-son-article-1.2162789

Here’s a soul that might need some serious saving.

A Catholic priest and former TV host in Alabama has been accused of molesting his own underage son several years ago.

The allegations against David Lawrence Stone, 54, appeared in court documents during a custody battle with the child's mother, Christina Presnell.

Stone was arrested and charged with the alleged sex assault in 2013, but the case has garnered new interest with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a national child abuse monitoring group, focusing on it.

The group's outreach director, Barbara Dorris, told AL.com the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham was trying to obscure Stone's sordid past.

"Even if you believe he's innocent, they should be open about it and let the truth come out," she said.

The diocese investigated the allegations and left it in the hands of the judicial system.

Stone, formerly known as Father Frances Mary Stone, used to host the Eternal Word Television Network’s still-running program “Life on the Rock.”

Stone developed a secret sexual relationship with Presnell more than a decade ago after she started seeing him for confession and as a spiritual adviser. They had a son together in 2008.

The boy, now 6, told Presnell in 2011 that during a visit, Stone put his finger in the boy’s anus, making him defecate on a bed.

Stone, who lives in a rented house in Irondale, has repeatedly denied the accusation, and his lawyers say it’s a ploy by Presnell to get full custody.

As part of Stone’s $150,000 bond from the 2013 arrest, he is not allowed to visit his son while the case continues.

Contact: jsilverstein@nydailynews.com