Jury Selection Begins for Former Minnesota Priest

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) — A trial is set to begin this week for a former Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting an altar boy in Hastings from 1989 to 1991.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports jury selection started Tuesday in the case of 64-year-old Francis Hoefgen. The Dakota County Attorney's Office says the selection of jury members will continue Wednesday and will be followed by opening statements, unless a plea agreement is reached.

Hoefgen is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Prosecutors say he abused the boy from the time he was about 9 to 12 years old while serving as a priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Hastings