PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Liz Zemba
Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015
The trial for a Somerset County priest accused of traveling to Central and South America to sexually abuse orphaned boys is set to start in September and last for approximately three weeks.
The Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio has been held in the Cambria County Prison on a federal detainer since Sept. 25, when he was arrested on a grand jury’s allegations that he visited a Honduran orphanage under the guise of performing charity work but really wanted to have sex with boys.
Prosecutor Stephanie L. Haines and defense attorney Steven P. Passarello of Altoona told U.S. District Court Judge Kim R. Gibson on Friday that they anticipate a three-week trial, with both sides requiring government-provided translators because they will be bringing witnesses from Honduras to testify.
Maurizio, who has been suspended as pastor at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Central City, did not attend the brief hearing at the federal courthouse in Johnstown. Some two dozen parishioners who packed the tiny gallery for every other hearing for the Roman Catholic cleric, known as “Father Joe,” were absent as well.
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