Rape trial against former priest delayed

Court proceedings against a former priest identified by police only as Anton, who faces charges of rape and sexual abuse, continued at Humenné District Court (Prešov region) on Monday. However, due to a number of witnesses failing to show up, the court session has been postponed to August 22. The alleged victim, who is now a 26-year-old woman from north eastern Slovakia, was supposedly abused as a child by the man. The former priest claimed that he's not guilty of these alleged crimes. At the same time, however, he confirmed that he has a son with the woman. In her testimony, the woman declared that she met the defendant back when she was a Grade 6 pupil, attending Roman Catholic classes. According to her words, she was sexually abused and later raped by the priest before she turned 15. She has no evidence to corroborate her accusations and opted to file a criminal complaint following her visits to a psychologist. If found guilty, the accused could face up to 12 years in jail. The accused had already faced charges of sexual abuse in the past from a different woman in 2001, however the woman withdrew the charges and dropped the case, claiming that she had fabricated her story.