A Kansas jury was unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a Kansas priest who was suspended from the ministry after he was accused of inappropriately touching a young girl on two occasions.
A Wyandotte County jury announced Monday evening that it could not determine the guilt or innocence of the Rev. Scott Kallal, 37, who was charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
He was accused of inappropriately touching a 10-year-old girl in 2015 at a Kansas City, Kansas, church gymnasium and again at a graduation party in Bonner Springs.
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a statement that Kallal will remain on leave and it will resume its evaluation process after the legal process is completed, The Kansas City Star reported .
"I continue to pray that truth is served and all those affected by this ordeal may find healing and peace," Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in the statement.
The girl testified at a preliminary hearing in 2017 that Kallal twice tickled her breasts against her wishes. She said in one incident at a parish hall gymnasium, she ran into a girl's restroom to escape Kallal but he came into the restroom, picked her up and carried her out, still tickling her.
The girl's mother testified last week that she saw Kallal carrying her daughter during that incident and had to demand three times that he put her down because she said it was inappropriate. She said she didn't witness the inappropriate touching that her daughter later reported.
"She was scared," the woman said.
The incidents were not reported until the summer of 2017. The girl's mother said she waited to make a police report because she didn't think the church would do anything and she was raised to hold priests in high regard.
___
Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
Advertisement
