ALABAMA
AL.com
By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com
A trial began Monday for David Lawrence Stone, a Catholic priest and former EWTN TV host who was arrested in 2013 and charged with sexual abuse of a minor under 12.
“I’m innocent,” Stone told AL.com after jury selection began for his trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court. “I’m going to fight this thing all the way.”
The minor he is charged with sexually abusing is his own son, now seven years old. Stone has been embroiled in a custody battle. “I’m going for my son,” he said.
Stone, 55, formerly known as Father Frances Mary Stone, was host of the TV program “Life on the Rock” on Eternal Word Television Network.
In court filings, Stone’s attorneys have argued that the allegation of child abuse is false. Stone has been in a lengthy custody battle with Christina Presnell, the mother of his child, according to Jefferson County Court records.
Scott Morro, an attorney for Presnell, said the relationship between Stone and Presnell started when she was working for EWTN. Presnell worked as a human resource coordinator for EWTN, according to court documents. She met Stone in 1998, went to confession with him as her priest and considered him her spiritual adviser, then began a sexual relationship with him in 2001. They kept the relationship secret, but were discovered when she became pregnant. EWTN fired Presnell in 2008 and Stone was put on a long-term leave of absence, court records show.
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