Jurors deadlocked in Missouri sex abuse case

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) -- Jurors in the case of a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a teenager told a judge Thursday they were deadlocked, but the judge told them to keep working toward a verdict.

Jurors had deliberated for more than 13 hours over two days when they sent a note to St. Louis County Circuit Judge John Ross, saying they were unable to resolve the case involving the Rev. Bryan Kuchar, 37, of St. Louis.

Ross said reaching a verdict was their duty and sent the 12 members back into deliberations.

Kuchar, 37, faces six counts of statutory sodomy involving a 14-year-old boy in 1995. He could face up to 42 years in prison if convicted.

During deliberations on Wednesday, jurors asked to again see Kuchar's confession to police in which he admitted having oral and anal sex with the teen. In testimony, Kuchar said the confession was coerced. He now denies any wrongdoing.

Kuchar was arrested in April 2002 when he was associate pastor at the Cathedral Bascilica in midtown St. Louis. He was also director of the Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Authorities said the victim confided in a private counselor and his parents about the abuse in 1997, but the matter wasn't turned over to police until last year.

In February, former Roman Catholic priest Gary Wolken of St. Louis was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a young boy during a three-year period. St. Louis Archdiocese officials said it marked the first time in recent memory that one of its priests was sent to prison in a sexual abuse case.

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