Lawyer: Church accuser gave 3 locations for rape by teacher
The lone accuser in the rape trial of a former Catholic school teacher has given three different locations over the years for the site of the alleged attack.
According to defense questioning Wednesday, the accuser has said the rape occurred in his sixth-grade classroom, outside an apartment complex and near a city park.
The accuser, a 24-year-old policeman’s son, says he was high on heroin when he spoke to the Philadelphia archdiocese in 2009. He says his habit once reached 15 to 20 bags a day.
He accuses two Roman Catholic priests and ex-teacher Bernard Shero of sexually assaulting him in about 1999.
Shero and the Rev. Charles Engelhardt are on trial, fighting the charges. Now-defrocked priest Edward Avery is in prison after pleading guilty.
The accuser is also suing the Philadelphia archdiocese.
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