PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly
An accuser in the Philadelphia priest-abuse trial took the stand today. The former Marine gave an emotional testimony that Rev. James Brennan made sexual advances on him when he was 14-years-old.
The victim, now 30-years-old, outlined the events that led up to the alleged sexual assault in 1996, and went into great detail about his struggles with drug abuse, mental illness and multiple suicide attempts that he says are partially a result of his sexual abuse from Brennan.
The man said Brennan was close to his family, and would come over to the home every weekend. He described him as a “drinking buddy” of his mother, and an uncle figure. He said, “When the collar came down, he was Jim. He was one of the guys.”
In the summer of 1999, the victim said that Brennan took him to his apartment in West Chester to watch movies and then golf the next day. He testified that at the apartment, Brennan showed him pornography on his laptop, tried to masturbate with the victim, and got into bed with him.
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