PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Joseph A. Slobodzian, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 1:27 PM

Lawyers for a Philadelphia priest and ex-parochial schoolteacher today began calling character witnesses to convince a Common Pleas Court jury their reputations were inconsistent with men who would rape a 10-year-old altar boy.

It’s not known if the Rev. Charles Engelhardt or Bernard Shero will testify in their defense.
Five witnesses, mostly relatives, were called by lawyer Michael McGovern to testify about Engelhardt’s reputation. Shero’s attorney Burton A. Rose called Shero’s mother and sister to testify before the trial broke for lunch.

Bonita Shero testified that her son was born with congenital cataracts in his eyes and underwent 23 surgeries in the first seven months of his life. Shero said her son is blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other.

Shero said her son excelled in school…