NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press
Kathleen Hopkins, @Khopkinsapp
October 14, 2014
TOMS RIVER – Jurors weighing the fate of a popular Brick priest on trial on molestation charges on Wednesday will get a second look at what the prosecution says is among the strongest evidence against him – a videotape of what he said to detectives.
An assistant prosecutor reminded the jury on Tuesday that Marukudiyil Velan, better known to parishioners at Church of the Visitation in Brick as “Father Chris,” admitted on the videotape that he improperly touched a mother and her two children in 2012.
Velan’s defense attorney, however, maintains the detectives badgered, cursed at and manipulated Velan until he told them what they wanted to hear.
Brick priest trial: Sex assault or tall tale?
After deliberating late into the afternoon on Tuesday, the jurors sent a note to Superior Court Judge James M. Blaney saying they wanted to view the videotape again. Blaney sent the panel home without reaching a verdict, saying they would have a chance to see the videotape in the morning.
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