OHIO
WCPO
[with video]
Greg Noble
gregory.noble@wcpo.com
Anna Langlinais, anna.langlinais@wcpo.com
NOTE: Graphic details were discussed during testimony that may be difficult to read or considered inappropriate.
CINCINNATI – The jury in Rev. Robert Poandl’s sexual abuse trial began deliberations in federal court Thursday afternoon with the task of weighing the accuser’s startling testimony against the defense’s claim that the former drug user made it all up.
The eight women and four men heard a 32-year-old man testify that Poandl sodomized him in a West Virginia church rectory when he was 10 years old in 1991. The man said he suffered nightmares after the attack, experimented with LSD and cocaine, got hooked on Oxycodone and plotted to kill the priest and commit suicide.
During closing arguments, the U.S. attorney said Poandl groomed his victim’s family by giving them money and earning their trust with the intent to molest the boy.
The defense argued that the trip to West Virginia never happened, attacking the accuser’s drug use and credibility.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.