PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
MENSAH M. DEAN, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER DEANM@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-568-8278
POSTED: Friday, March 7, 2014
THE PHILADELPHIA Catholic priest on trial for allegedly molesting an altar boy in 1997 was suspended from ministry in 2011 after he twice gave deceptive answers during polygraph tests when asked about touching children’s genitals, a prosecutor said yesterday.
The revelation about the Rev. Andrew McCormick, 57, was made in court by Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp. It was made following the closing arguments by defense lawyer William J. Brennan and after the jury had been escorted from the room.
Kemp told Common Pleas Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright of the tests administered by the Archdiocese because Brennan had told the jury during his closing that McCormick’s suspension from his church duties had nothing to do with child-molestation allegations.
Once the jurors returned to the courtroom, Bright instructed them to disregard Brennan’s assertion regarding the circumstances of McCormick’s suspension. She did not mention the polygraph tests, which were not entered as evidence during the two-week trial.
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