Prosecutor might quiz nun during priest's trial

by **Rigorous Intuition** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:53 pm

An <a href="http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/NEWS02/511100410">update</a> of the Gerald Robinson case: Prosecutor might quiz nun during priest's trial Sister could be called to refute good image Nov 10 A Toledo nun who has accused a former priest of abusing her when she was a girl may appear as a witness in a homicide trial involving another priest, the Rev. Gerald Robinson. Father Robinson, 67, is accused of killing a nun, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, in the chapel at Mercy Hospital near downtown in 1980. The case went unsolved until last year when investigators said they took a new look at evidence and arrested Father Robinson. He has been charged with aggravated murder in the case, which has attracted international attention. Twice, the trial has been delayed and is now scheduled for April 17, nearly two years after his arrest. In court documents, prosecutors say they may call Sister Ann-Marie Borgess, a Notre Dame nun, to challenge any defense evidence about Father Gerald Robinson's "good character." Dean Mandros, head of the criminal division of the Lucas County prosecutor's office, would not say why Sister Ann-Marie was named as a possible witness nor describe her connection to Father Robinson. Sister Ann-Marie spoke in support of victims of priest abuse before dozens of supporters in Columbus yesterday during a "Speak Out" organized by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. She did not return calls seek-ing comment on the Father Robinson case. She has accused a former priest, Chet Warren, of sexually assaulting her when she was a young girl at St. Pius X Church in West Toledo. He was never charged, but was removed from the ministry after several women accused him of abuse. The event yesterday in Columbus was as a precursor to a Ohio House judiciary committee hearing today on a proposed bill that would extend the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. Sister Ann-Marie's stand puts her at odds with the Diocese of Toledo, which opposes portions of the bill. The motions filed last month in the Robinson murder trial are meant to keep the trial on track for an April 17 start. The documents put the defense team on notice about who may appear as witnesses for the prosecutions, Mr. Mandros said. "If they raise objections at the last minute, it could be another delay," Mr. Mandros said. He declined further comment, citing a gag order by Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik, who is scheduled to hear the murder case. Alan Konop and John Thebes, Father Robinson's defense attorneys, declined comment, citing the same gag order.  From <a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050220/NEWS08/502200352/-1/NEWS">last February's</a> Toledo Blade: For Toledo police, it was a rare assignment: Search an abandoned house on the edge of a cornfield in western Lucas County where people reportedly took part in ritual abuse ceremonies. ... The search of the decrepit, wood structure last year was a sign the investigation of the Rev. Gerald Robinson was moving beyond a murder case. No longer was the probe focusing solely on the man accused of killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, but was expanding into a new direction: accusations that children were molested and raped by priests in ritual services. ... Four women told detectives about being abused between the late 1960s and 1986 during cult-like ceremonies involving altars and men dressed in robes, the accusers told The Blade. "I've had nightmares about this since I was a child," said one woman, who asked not to be named. "I didn't think anyone would believe me." As I <a href="http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/02/great-satan.html">wrote</a> at the time: Noted forensic expert Henry Lee has been retained to examine the physical evidence of the 25-year old slaying, which police are still calling a "ritual" killing "because of the circumstances surrounding the crime, including the way her body was found: lying face up with an altar cloth draped over her torso, her body posed to appear like she was sexually assaulted." A "deliberate" pattern of stab wounds is said to resemble a cross. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=rigorousintuition>Rigorous Intuition</A> at: 11/10/05 10:04 am

Prosecutor might quiz nun during priest's trial

Prosecutor might quiz nun during priest's trial

Who is online