PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times
By PHIL HERON,
editor@delcotimes.com
@philheron
It’s pretty safe to say this was not what the prosecution had in mind when they put the Rev. Edward Avery on the stand Thursday. Avery was called to testify for the prosecution in the trial of another priest and a Catholic school teacher on charges they raped an altar boy and student at a parish in Northeast Philly back in 1998-199.
But it sure didn’t sound like it. Avery, who had pleaded guilty to similar charges involving this accuser nearly a year ago, had something else he wanted to say. The defrocked priest quickly turned into what is referred in legal circles as a “hostile witness.”
Ya think?
Avery stunned prosecutors by denying he had ever raped the boy, recanting his earlier admission and guilty plea. Furthermore, the 70-year-old ex-cleric said he only pleaded guilty – in the process admitting he raped the boy – because he was afraid that if he went to trial and was convicted, he would have been sent to jai for the rest of his life. As part of his plea deal, Avery is instead serving two and a half to five years in prison.
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