Nebraska jury acquits priest of sexual assault charge

ORD, Neb. – A Valley County jury has found a Roman Catholic priest not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in his Ord home in 2018. Television station KSNB reports that the Rev. John Kakkuzhiyil was acquitted Thursday after his three-day trial concluded Wednesday. Kakkuzhiyil was arrested early last year following a monthlong investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol after a woman told police he sexually assaulted her in November 2018. The woman told investigators she blacked out after having several drinks with the priest. Kakkuzhiyil was the parish priest in Ord and Burwell at the time of the accusation.