Source: news.yahoo.com 6/29/23
BOSTON (AP) — Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old.
Prosecutors this week disclosed the findings of their expert to the judge, who will ultimately rule on the once-powerful American prelate’s ability to face charges that he abused the boy at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974.
McCarrick has maintained that he is innocent, and pleaded not guilty in September 2021. He was also charged in April with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in Wisconsin more than 45 years ago.
In February, McCarrick’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss the case, saying a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine had examined him and concluded that he has dementia, likely Alzheimer’s disease.
If this happened in 1974, a nearly 70 year-old victim will be on a witness stand pointing fingers at a slumped over drooling old man in a wheelchair who doesn’t know where he’s at. I’m not trying to make fun of it or believe the perpetrator shouldn’t be held accountable. I just think this nationwide trend of getting rid of statues of limitations can actually make things worse. Because it discourages victims from seeking redress early on when cases are fresh, and perps are competent enough to stand trial.