PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Paul Peirce
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015
A federal jury is expected to be formally seated Thursday morning in Johnstown to hear testimony in the trial of a suspended Somerset County Catholic priest accused of traveling to Honduras to have sex with poor street children during missionary trips.
The Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. of Windber has been jailed since federal prosecutors charged him last fall with molesting a boy and possessing child pornography. An indictment in April added charges involving two other boys and alleged the priest illegally sent $8,000 to a charity to help facilitate the trips that ended in 2009.
The 70-year-old Maurizio has denied the allegations. He continues to receive support from some members of Our Lady Queen of Angels, the Central City church he pastored before he was placed on leave.
While jury selection continued Wednesday, prosecutors won a legal battle to permit jurors to hear from a psychologist who treats sexually abused children and sex offenders.
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