LOUISIANA
KSLA
By Theresa Schmidt
LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) –
A jury in a former priest’s sex abuse trial heard graphic testimony Monday from a man who said he was sexually assaulted by Mark Broussard.
The witness’s testimony portrayed Broussard as a predator who groomed the boy for sexual activity, eventually accelerating to rape.
Mark Anthony Broussard is charged with molestation of a juvenile, oral sexual battery, aggravated oral sexual battery and two counts of aggravated rape. The allegations revolve around Broussard’s time as a priest at Our Lady Queen of Heaven and St. Henry Catholic Church, from 1986-91. The charges against Broussard are based on allegations of two men who were altar boys. Broussard, who is free on $1.5 million bond, was initially indicted on 224 counts of sexual abuse, but the charges were reduced to five, which reflect the entirety of the accusations.
KPLC’s Theresa Schmidt is covering the trial. Follow her at twitter.com/KplcTschmidt.
The man who took the stand Monday said he was about 8 years old and riding his bike around the parking lot of St. Henry when a stranger stopped him. That man was Broussard.
According to the witness, Broussard befriended him and eventually fondled, molested and raped him as the sexual contact accelerated over the course of about a year.
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