KENTUCKY
WAVE
By Charles Gazaway
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A jury is now deciding the fate of a former priest accused of sexual abuse in the 1970s.
Attorneys for James Schook, 66, who is charged with seven counts of sodomy, called no witnesses in his defense.
In closing statements, Schook’s attorney said the first three counts should come back as not guilty because of the judge’s order to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense said the account of one victim that abuses by Schook against him happened before April 1972 didn’t add up. That’s because Schook didn’t start at St. Rita until the summer of that year.
The Commonwealth told jurors the evidence is simple, they had heard two eyewitnesses and that is the end of the case.
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