No Verdict in Trial of Pastor Accused of Abuse
By Scott DeSmit
A jury failed to reach a verdict Friday and will resume deliberating Monday in the Orleans County Court trial of a former pastor accused of molesting three of his grandchildren. Jurors received the case after lunch and deliberated until late afternoon before Judge James Punch sent them home. Deliberations came after closing arguments from defense attorney Larry Koss and District Attorney Joseph Cardone. Koss asked jurors to use “common sense” regarding the evidence against Roy Harriger Sr., 71, former pastor of Ashwood Wesleyan Church. Koss detailed the allegations against Harriger and, specifically, the testimony of Harriger’s son, George Harriger. George Harriger testified that he was abused by his father as a child and that the reason he let his own child spend time with his grandfather was that his father, Roy, told him “he had changed and was possessed by demonic spirits” “Why would people who alleged they were sexually abused as a child let their children go with this person?” Koss said. “It makes no sense. These acts never even took place.” Harriger is accused of molesting George’s son, now 14, in 2008 and two other grandchildren, a girl and boy who are now adults, in 2001 and 2002. All three victims testified. Koss said George Harriger lied about his own abuse and then coaxed his own son into claiming he was molested by his grandfather. He did not spend much time addressing the allegations by the other two victims, other than to question how the abuse could have happened “with other people in the house” and in a hallway that was easily accessible to others. He also told jurors how difficult it is to defend against allegations stemming from abuse that happened 14 years ago. “The lapse of time is hard to defense and hard for people to remember,” he said. “But these victims had no difficulty remembering. Why?” The family, he said, was one of dysfunction and George “had a grievance with his dad” and was separated from his family “by choice.” “It started with George, it snowballed with George and now Roy Harriger is paying the consequences,” Koss said. While Koss’s closing argument was slow and deliberate, Cardone forcefully challenged all of Koss’s claims, in particular about the victims memory of the abuse. The girl, now 21, testified that her grandfather forced her to perform oral sex and he would “have her take her clothes off and dance in front of him.” “It’s something you would never forget,” Cardone said. “It is something you will carry with you the rest of your life.” The boy, now a young soldier, also testified, saying his grandfather forced him to perform sexual acts. All three showed “great strength of character” by testifying, Cardone said, especially after keeping the secret of their abuse for so many years. “He was their grandfather, larger-than-life and the head of a church,” he said. “People looked up to him. They knew. You don’t talk about this. These kids knew what a horrible impact it would have on their family. Thank God they had the strength to come before you now and put an end to it. “Contrast that courage with what you heard from their grandfather, a minister.” Cardone said Harriger “must have missed” the theology class that dealt with virtue, integrity and honesty. “The divisiveness this defendant has caused, the number of people he has affected, the acts upon his own son and daughter and grandchildren and he denies it all.” Harriger, who testified Thursday, denied all the allegations against him, including past allegations that he abused his son and daughter, as well as having numerous affairs and an illegitimate child in Pennsylvania. Cardone questioned Harriger and Koss’s claims that George Harriger lied. “That someone got to (George’s son), and his niece and nephew and contrived these stories? That this was some grand conspiracy orchestrated by George? Do you really believe someone forced them to come up with these stories?” Harriger “left a wake of destruction” in his path, mainly the destruction of his family. “If you want to believe these denials, so be it,” Cardone said. “But you know the strength of character, their honesty and sincerity they showed by testifying. I’m not so sure you have any of that with Roy Harriger. He is a man who puts himself before anyone else. “You have the opportunity to do your own justice.” Harriger is charged with three counts of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and faces up to 25 years in prison for each count if convicted. Contact: sdesmit@batavianews.com
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