PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat
Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2015
Priest on trial: Witness says Maurizio is ‘a great person’; Honduran woman excused after brief testimony
By Kecia Bal
kbal@tribdem.com
Defense testimony Thursday in the federal case against the Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. appeared to be cut shorter than expected.
Jurors listened to testimony for about an hour and a half Thursday afternoon: an attorney, a woman who said she lives near the Honduran orphanage ProNino and the man witnesses said was a security guard at the orphanage where federal investigators say Maurizio targeted Honduran boys.
But testimony from the woman, who said her name was Reyna Isabella Garcia but who did not spell her name, lasted only a few minutes. Defense attorney Steven Passarello asked Garcia about four questions before a dispute put a halt to the testimony. One of those questions was about Garcia’s children.
The woman said she had a son who died three years ago and that she lived near the La Montana campus of ProNino.
When Passarello asked her whether her child was depicted in two photos central to allegations against the priest of child pornography possession, U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney Amy Larson objected. Passarello said he asked for a stipulation to avoid having Garcia identify her son in the photographs.
After a sidebar with the judge, Passarello returned and told Garcia that he had no more questions.
“Thank you for coming to the United States to testify, but I’m not going to put you through this,” he said.
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