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…