Priest charged with raping boy decades ago pleads not guilty

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio priest accused of raping a male elementary school student around 30 years ago has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of rape. The Rev. Geoffrey Drew's attorney entered the not-guilty plea for Drew on Wednesday in a Hamilton County court in Cincinnati. Bond was set at $5 million....

Jury finds SC woman guilty in child's beating death

LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina woman will spend life behind bars after a jury found her guilty of killing her boyfriend's 3-year-old daughter in December 2017. The Herald reports 26-year-old Kayla Cook, of Lancaster, was convicted Monday of homicide by child abuse. Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy...

Boise pastor charged with sexual abuse of a child

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A Boise pastor has been charged with sexually abusing a child after prosecutors say he abused a teenage parishioner. Forty-eight-year-old Bret Welty made his first appearance in court Monday to face sex abuse and lewd conduct charges. He has not yet had the chance to enter a plea, and...

Newark man faces child sex charges; mummified remains found

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Police responding to a call about child sexual abuse say they found mummified remains and an altar to a deity in the home of a man who is now facing charges. Robert Williams is due for an initial court appearance Friday. He is charged with crimes including aggravated sexual assault,...

The Latest: Vatican to wait before investigating Pell

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Latest on an appeals court upholding the sex abuse convictions of Cardinal George Pell (all times local): 8 p.m. The Vatican says it will let Cardinal George Pell exhaust all his appeals of his sexual abuse convictions in Australia before taking up his case in its own canon...

Australian court upholds sex abuse verdict of Cardinal Pell

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian appeals court Wednesday upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children, in a decision cheered by scores of abuse survivors and victims' advocates demonstrating outside the court. A unanimous...

Kentucky newspaper's series on abuse cited as 'wake-up call'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A charity group and others in Kentucky cited a local newspaper's investigative series on child abuse as a wake-up call for the state. The Courier Journal of Louisville reports Kosair Charities and others hosted an event Tuesday to call on the community to help combat the "epidemic."...

Man accused of sexual abuse during pre-parade campout

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors say a Provo man sexually abused a teenager while camping along a parade route. The Daily Herald reports that 64-year-old John Owen Larson has been charged with felony aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Court documents say he and the girl were camping the night before a...

Timeline of Cardinal George Pell's career and accusations

An Australian appeals court on Wednesday upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell for molesting two choirboys in a cathedral more than two decades ago. Some events in Pell's career and the criminal case: July 16, 1996: Auxiliary Bishop George Pell is appointed Archbishop of Melbourne. He molests two choir...

Appeals court upholds convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic found guilty of child sex abuse

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Appeals court upholds convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic found guilty of child sex abuse.