COLORADO
Gazette
By Lance Benzel Published: July 1, 2013
The father of a former altar boy who says a Colorado Springs priest molested him questioned his son’s veracity in court Monday, calling him “untruthful” and telling a jury: “I don’t always believe him.”
The father’s frank and potentially damaging assessment of the now 18-year-old accuser’s credibilty came as attorneys for the Rev. Charles Robert “Bob” Manning, 78, began their defense in a case pitting one man’s word against the other’s.
Manning, who retired from St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in Colorado Springs in the wake of the allegations against him, has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault on a child, which his attorneys have dismissed as fabrications by the former altar server.
Whether the father’s testimony helped shape the jury’s thinking may soon be clear: Deliberations are expected to begin Tuesday or Wednesday.
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