DA: Pa. priest abused boy after mom sought his help

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors in Philadelphia say a Roman Catholic priest assaulted a 10-year-old after the boy’s mother met with the priest about her son’s sexuality.

The account today comes as the latest priest-abuse trial in Philadelphia gets under way.

Prosecutors say the accuser’s mother had sought help from the Rev. Andrew McCormick over concerns her son was gay.

They say McCormick then targeted the boy, and sexually assaulted him at his northeast Philadelphia rectory in 1997.

Defense lawyer William Brennan asks jurors why no one else has accused Father McCormick of molestation despite his 30-year church career.

Philadelphia prosecutors have been investigating priest-abuse reports for a decade, winning several convictions.

Father McCormick had been suspended by the church over a less-serious allegation a year before the trial accuser came forward in 2012.