Closing Arguments Begin In Priest's Sexual Tourism Trial

JOHNSTOWN (AP) - Closing arguments have begun in the trial of a suspended Roman Catholic priest from western Pennsylvania charged with traveling to Honduras to molest poor street children during missionary trips.

Defense attorneys rested their case in Cambria County Court on Friday afternoon without the Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. testifying.

The 70-year-old priest has been suspended from Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Somerset County. He's charged with traveling abroad from 2004 to 2009 to have sex with three young boys - a charge known as sexual tourism - and illegally transferring $8,000 to a charity to help fund the trips.

A defense expert witness on Friday raised questions about investigators' implanted ideas that led the alleged victims - now all men in their 20s - to falsely accuse the priest.

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